Before his opening 2023 US Open match, the three-time Grand Slam champion chose a player from the WTA Tour he would like to play doubles with and left her in a state of shock.
US Open defending champion Iga Swiatek was surprised by Andy Murray’s choice of a preferred doubles partner. The Poland native is competing at this year’s edition of the American Grand Slam where she bids to successfully defend her title.
Ahead of her first match at Flushing Meadows this year, the 22-year-old took to social media to reply to a clip of the 2012 US Open winner choosing her as his preferred doubles partner. The world No. 1 reacted to the clip with a shocked face emoji along with a GIF illustrating a surprised look on a dog’s face with the caption: “What?”
The pair would certainly make a formidable doubles team, especially at the US Open, a tournament both players have won. Swiatek began the defence of her title with a resounding 6-0, 6-1 win over Sweden’s Rebecca Peterson. The top seed blasted 20 winners to just two from her opponent and recorded her 18th bagel of the year. Swiatek wrapped up the win in just 58 minutes and it marked her 16th consecutive straight-sets first-round victory at a Grand Slam dating back to Wimbledon 2019.
“I am certainly very happy. I feel like I could have played proactively from the beginning and never stopped,” she said post-match. “I’m happy that it was such a good first round because usually, the first rounds are difficult. Also, I’m glad I had time to put into practice all the things I’ve been working on.
