Rome [Italy], May 10 : The four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka had a ton of praise for former No. 1 Andy Murray on and off the court following her first-round victory at the Italian Open.
The 36-year-old has been injured since late March during a Miami Open third-round match against Tomas Machac. Following the game, Murray announced he would miss "a significant amount of time" due to a full rupture of his anterior talofibular ligament (ATFL) and a near-full-thickness tear of his calcaneofibular ligament (CFL).
"It's funny, I actually asked [coach] Wim [Fissette] where Murray was because I haven't seen him for a couple tournaments. I didn't know that he was out. For me, Murray's such a great guy, such a tough competitor. I think it's really amazing the fact that he loves tennis so much and he keeps coming back. He's had all these injuries. He's kind of relentless in a way. Just his ability to keep playing matches at a high level," Osaka said as quoted by ATP.
Osaka said that Murray's never-lose attitude has earned millions of fans around the world.
"For me, when I think about him, when I think about the legacy that he leaves on tennis. Obviously, he's done a lot for British tennis. I think as a kid watching him on TV playing these amazing battles, he's affected every tennis kid worldwide," Osaka said.
Throughout his career, Murray has also been a leader in supporting WTA stars and women's tennis.
"He's been very vocal. I know all tennis players and all female athletes really appreciate it," Osaka said.
Murray hasn't performed at Roland Garros since 2020, the only time he's been there since his hip issues started three years earlier.
The former No.1 indicated that he would most likely not play beyond this summer with the two-time Olympic gold medallist dreaming of competing at the Paris 2024 Olympics before retiring from tennis.
"I'm likely not going to play past this summer. I get asked about it after every single match that I play, every single tournament that I play. I'm bored of the question, to be honest. I'm not going to talk more about that between now and whenever the time comes for me to stop. But, yes, I don't plan on playing much past this summer," Murray confirmed he is set to retire this summer as quoted by Sky Sports.