LONDON (AP) — Andy Murray interrupted a reporter’s question to make an important distinction during his post-match news conference at Wimbledon on Wednesday.
Murray had just lost to Sam Querrey in the quarterfinals at the All England Club, and the question started by referring to Querrey as the “first U.S. player” to reach a major semifinal since 2009.
“Male player,” Murray pointed out .
Querrey is indeed the first American man to make it to the semifinals at a Grand Slam tournament since Andy Roddick reached the Wimbledon final eight years ago. Serena Williams alone has won more than 10 major titles since 2009. And then there’s her sister Venus, a Wimbledon semifinalist last year and this year, for example, not to mention a finalist at the Australian Open in January.
And that’s just the Williams sisters. CoCo Vandeweghe, Madison Keys and Sloane Stephens also have reached major semifinals since Roddick’s run.
Judy Murray, Andy’s mother and a tennis coach, tweeted a quote of the exchange with the comment: “That’s my boy.” It was accompanied by a heart emoji.
Murray has a history of supporting women in tennis. In 2014, he became the first high-profile player to hire a female coach when he took on Amelie Mauresmo, a two-time Grand Slam champion.
Writing about their relationship at the time, Murray defended hiring a woman.
“Have I become a feminist?” Murray wrote on his website. “Well, if being a feminist is about fighting so that a woman is treated like a man then yes, I suppose I have.”
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