US Open champion Rory McIlroy meets tennis star Andy Murray to support his bid for Wimbledon
The reigning US Open winner, Rory McIlroy, who has decided to stay put for the moment and is savouring the returns of his phenomenal success at Congressional, was driven all the way to meet the Brit Tennis star Andy Murray at Wimbledon.
The 22-year-old Irish prodigy is not only a big fan of Murray and Rafael Nadal but also happens to be a close friend of the legendary Nadal, who has won a whopping ten Grand Slam titles in a short span of time.
Murray is hoping to break his streak for the last three consecutive losses and is facing Feliciano Lopez in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, June 29. McIlroy was warmly greeted by Murray and former US champion John McEnroe before the practice session and when asked if he might have a piece of advice for Murray, McIlroy didn't believe he needed any.
"Not really, he's playing awesome. He looked great yesterday. Keep doing what you're doing," he said.
Murray suffered defeats in the final rounds of the previous three Grand Slams and is hoping to win the title for the first time in 75 years. Brits have not won a Men’s Single Grand Slam title since Fred Perry won the title for the last time in 1936.
McIlroy and Murray shared some surprising similarities in their choice of sports and the duo found out that they have intense liking for boxing. McIlroy disclosed that he will be heading to Germany to Watch Brit David Haye’s heavyweight bid against Wladimir Klitschko on Saturday.
The 24-year-old Murray disclosed that he eagerly watched McIlroy’s final round at Congressional but sheepishly accepted that although he has intense liking for the sport, he has no talent for it.
"I used to play a bit when I was younger," Murray said. "My brother (doubles player Jamie) played really well. He played off like 3 or 4 (handicap) when he was 16. I'm more like 14, 15."
McIlroy has expressed his liking for Tennis time and again and his backyard also boosts of an international standard court where he often quenches his thirst for the sport.
"I grew up watching Tim Henman here at Wimbledon and cheering him on every summer," he said. "Now that's been passed over to Andy. We're all behind him and hopefully he can win his first Grand Slam."
McIlroy has been on a whirlwind tour of his country Northern Ireland for the last ten days after his stellar victory at the US Open and will not be back to mainstream golf till the Open Championship scheduled at Sandwich on July 10.
With a major victory so early in his career, the young Irishman is poised to become the richest sportsman not only in the United Kingdom, but is also expected to surpass Tiger Woods in terms of sponsorships and endorsements.
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