Low expectations, big celebration: Andy Murray on Serena Williams at US Open

Andy Murray has always been a big fan of Serena Williams and the former world No 1 wants his old mixed doubles partner to go out on a high at the US Open, in what seems almost certain to be the last tournament before she retires.

Not on the court, necessarily – Murray says her lack of matches means a big run is unlikely – but says the woman who has won 23 Grand Slam titles and transformed women’s tennis over more than two decades – deserves a fitting send-off from her home crowd.

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“I don’t think what she achieves at the US Open…it doesn’t really feel like part of the storyline to me,” Murray told British reporters this week, in an interview arranged by his clothing company AMC, to promote his new “Drive” collection.

“I mean, she’s hardly played in the last few years, really. So I think the expectations on her run should be very low.

“But I do think that the celebration of her career and what she’s achieved should be really, really high.

“When I first found out, I was sad about it, but then at the same time, I think she would probably as well maybe want like this week to be about everything that she has achieved and having a really nice send-off, like being more of a celebration rather than like being really upset that it’s the end.”

She’s a proper global superstar. She’ll go down as the greatest female player of all time

Murray hails impact of both Williams sisters

In an interview with Vogue magazine, Williams said the US Open was likely to be her last event. Murray, who partnered Williams at Wimbledon in 2019, says Serena will go down in history as the best female player of all time.

“I think her and Venus (Williams) have had a massive impact on the sport. I mean, they’ve had Oscar-winning movies made about their careers, which I think is quite rare in in all sports, really.

“But I mean, she is much bigger than just tennis. She’s a proper global sports superstar pretty much everywhere, pretty much everywhere she goes. And I think she’ll go down as the as the greatest female player of all time, in my opinion.”

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