Andy Murray revealed he received a touching message from Kim Sears after he landed the Surbiton Challenger title on the same day that Novak Djokovic clinched a record-breaking 23rd Grand Slam win. On Sunday, Djokovic wrote tennis history when he defeated Casper Ruud in the French Open final to become the first-ever male player with 23 Grand Slam singles titles.
While Djokovic was making history in Paris, Murray earned his second Challenger title of the year after beating Jurij Rodionov in the Surbiton final. Murray, a three-time Grand Slam champion, was once regularly competing against Djokovic in the latter stages of Grand Slam and Masters tournaments.
Unfortunately, Murray and Djokovic haven’t had any meetings since the Briton returned from two major hip surgeries.
Murray reveals his wife’s message after Djokovic’s French Open win
“She said, ‘I’m just watching Novak on the news, seeing that he won in Paris and I’m so proud that you’re still grinding it out in Challengers and still working as hard as you know you ever have done.’ That means a lot to me.
You can’t always be comparing yourself to other people, and people that are more successful than you. I probably learned that more as I got older. So whether I win another Grand Slam or winning Challengers is the peak for me now, I’m okay with that because I’m doing what I love to do,” Murray said.
Last month, both Murray and Djokovic turned 36. But even at the age of 36, Djokovic is still very much a dominant force in the game. “I’m not saying he makes it look easy but he makes it look a lot more easy than it should.
I am happy for him, he deserves it. When he beat me in the final of the (2016) French Open he lost motivation so maybe he can take his eye off the ball for the next few weeks heading into Wimbledon! But congratulations to him – it’s an incredible achievement,” Murray said
