‘He was supporting Wawrinka against me’: Murray jokes about Federer’s presence in Wimbledon opener with funny revelation

Andy Murray was dominant in his opening round match against countryman Ryan Peniston, sailing past him at Wimbledon’s Centre Court in a 6-3 6-0 6-1 beatdown in just over 2 hours. After the match, which was played under a closed roof on a rain-curtailed day at SW19, Murray had positive words to say about Roger Federer, who was present as a guest of honour at Centre Court and was seated in the royal box throughout the player’s match. (Wimbledon Day 3 Live Updates)

Federer was present alongside his wife Mirka, as well as the Princess of Wales Catherine, who is the royal patron of the All-England Lawn Tennis Club. The Swiss is an eight-time champion at Wimbledon, the record for the men’s tour, and defeated Murray in the 2012 final on the same court. Great rivals and colleagues, Murray thanked Federer for attending the contest.

“It was amazing to have some royalty here but also some tennis royalty. It’s amazing to have Roger here supporting the event,” said the Scot, a two-time champion and fan-favourite himself at his home slam.

“The last time I was on this court and he was watching it was the Olympics and he was on Stan Wawrinka’s box supporting him against me,” said Murray humorously, reflecting on the 2012 London Olympics during which tennis was hosted at Wimbledon.

Murray entered that tournament as Wimbledon runner-up, and would survive a tough first-round encounter against Federer’s compatriot and three-time slam champion Wawrinka, the pair of whom had earned Switzerland a gold medal in the doubles at the Beijing Olympics. Murray would then beat Djokovic in the semifinal to set up a gold medal match against Federer himself, who had overcome Juan Martin del Potro in what is still the longest ever men’s best-of-three match.

Although Federer had beaten him in the Wimbledon final of 2012 only a month prior, Murray would exact his revenge, earning the 2012 gold medal on home turf with a straight-sets victory. He would add a second gold medal to his tally at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

“So it’s nice to see a couple of claps today after some good shots,” concluded Murray, earning laughter from the crowd. Murray and Federer are great friends, and Federer in the build-up to Wimbledon spoke about Murray’s courage and determination to return to this stage despite career-threatening surgery.

They enjoyed a brilliant rivalry in their playing days, with Federer ahead 14-11, last having played in 2015. Murray was also present at Federer’s request at the Swiss master’s farewell tournament at the Laver Cup.

Murray will now look forward to a blockbuster second round encounter against either Stefanos Tsitsipas or Dominic Thiem, whose opening round contest was interrupted by the rain with Thiem leading by a set. With Murray in good form and his prospective opponents not the most comfortable on grass, the Scot will be looking forward to earning a huge scalp in his next match.