"The crowd went nuts, Andy was in floods again" - Sue Barker recalls the time she got into trouble with Wimbledon after Andy Murray's historic 2013 triumph
Sue Barker, a former tennis pro and BBC presenter, has recounted how she got into trouble with tournament officials when Andy Murray won the Wimbledon title in 2013.
Andy Murray made history in 2013 when he won his first Grand Slam at Wimbledon, defeating Novak Djokovic 6-4, 7-5, 6-4. Murray became the first player to lift the championship on home soil since Fred Perry in 1936. He also became the first Scot to hold the trophy since 1896.
Sue Barker was in charge of carrying out the post-match interview with the winner, and she elected to tweak the script slightly due to the emotions of everyone in the stadium, which put her in "awful trouble" with tournament officials, as she disclosed to Lorraine Kelly on her ITV show.
"I will never forget that. I got in awful trouble with Wimbledon. Because Wimbledon had asked me, in the early 2000's, to do on court interviews and to read out, you know? And I have a little script where I have to say the winner of gentleman's singles trophy, for whatever year it is, is so-and-so," Barker said.
"And I suddenly - I looked over at Andy and he was crying, and I thought— and I could hear on Murray Mount, the crowd were going mad. There was such a buzz around center court. I said, I can't just read this. So I said, we've waited 77 years for this! I just felt it needed something, and the crowd went nuts. Andy was in floods again. No, that was the highlight for all of us. He was amazing. The pressure he was under, I don’t know how he did it," she added.
The 1976 French Open winner also addressed her decision to step down from hosting the BBC's Wimbledon coverage, stating that she didn't want to leave but it was the "right time" to do so.
"I will miss it terribly. I wish I was 30 years younger and starting out. I loved the job, and I didn't want to give it up, but I felt it was the right time and I could walk out with my head held high, which I was able to do," Barker said.
The wonderful Sue Barker revealed the one time she got into trouble at Wimbledon (blame @andy_murray!) and we do not blame her! 🎾🏆
#Lorraine https://t.co/3L2j2zjSOm
How Andy Murray fared at Grand Slams in 2022
Andy Murray received a wildcard entry at the 2022 Australian Open. However, his journey was cut short when he lost in straight sets in the second round against Taro Daniel, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, after defeating Nikoloz Basilashvili in the first round in a five-set thriller, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-4.
The former World No. 1 skipped the French Open and competed at Wimbledon, where he overcame James Duckworth in the first round, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4, before losing in the second round to big-hitting American John Isner, 6-4, 7-6(4), 6-7(3), 6-4.
His journey also did not go as planned at the US Open, as he was defeated in the third round by Matteo Berrettini, 6-4, 6-4, 6-7(1), 6-3.