"After listening to you I'll make sure I'm a lot more grateful for everything" - Andy Murray touched by Zaghari-Ratcliffe's Wimbledon revelation
Andy Murray was Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe's guest on a recent radio show. He was incredibly humbled by the latter's description of how she watched his 2016 Wimbledon victory while in solitary confinement in Iran.
Iranian-British dual citizen Zaghari-Ratcliffe was detained in Tehran in April 2016 after being accused of plotting against the then-Iranian government. She was sentenced to five years in prison in September of that year.
It is widely believed that the British government secured her release in March earlier this year. They cleared a debt of around £400 million to Iran, which had been accrued from the 1970s arms deal.
Zaghari-Ratcliffe was denied access to television, books, and newspapers during her first few months in solitary confinement. However, the die-hard Murray fan was miraculously granted access to a television set in July, which consisted of two channels. One showed Iranian soaps and the other broadcast the Wimbledon final, where Murray beat Milos Raonic to lift his third Grand Slam.
"They had no idea what they had given me. I was always a big fan of you, but also there I was in solitary confinement watching the match that you actually won in the end," she told Murray during the Radio 4 Today program.
She recalled how watching her favorite player win Wimbledon filled her with extreme joy. This also prompted her to make plans to visit the All England Club next year (had she been released).
"I can't tell you how joyful it was and I was ecstatic just to see you win. But also to think that obviously for a very, very long time, I wasn't sure when I was coming out. But at the time I thought, I'm just going to go out and find your email and write you an email and say I'm very, very proud. But also you have no idea where I watched you and I was in solitary," she continued.
"And then just to give myself a little bit of prize, I even though that I'm going to find a way and find a friend of mine who can get me the tickets next year for the final match. And I'm just going to go and watch him (Andy Murray), you know, in person. But of course that never happened because I was in prison for such a long time," she stated.
Andy Murray was left at a loss for words by the British-Iranian's heart-wrenching tale, vowing to become "a lot more grateful for everything."
"I think what you've told me is by far the strangest, most incredible story that I've been told about someone watching me. Nothing has come close to that - so that's incredible," the three-time Major champion said.
"We all have our own problems, but after listening to you and speaking to you I'll certainly make sure I'm a lot more grateful for everything that I've got," he added.
"If I was in that situation or someone that I knew was in that situation, I would feel very angry about that" - Andy Murray to Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe
Andy Murray expressed his curiosity about Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe's feelings about her overall ordeal since 2016. He stressed that he would be severely incensed if the same had happened to him or someone close to him.
"I would be interested to hear how you feel about it all. You seem absolutely fine now, but I'm thinking if I was in that situation or someone that I knew was in that situation, that I would feel very angry about that," Murray said.
She admitted to feeling angry on occasion but explained how the emotion of anger is not viable for one's mental health over the long term.
"At times I do feel very angry, but I guess there was a point that I decided I should put the anger away and to not carry it with me, because otherwise it will eat me up for the rest of my life," Zaghari-Ratcliffe said.