During Wimbledon, Andy Murray, the three-time Grand Slam champion, invited Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe to the Royal Box. The British-Iranian Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was imprisoned in Iran for 6 years on espionage allegations, admitted to the Scot that cheering on him during matches gave her the confidence to hope for her release.
After being freed last year, Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who maintained her innocence throughout, revealed to Murray in December 2017 that while she was being held in solitary confinement in an Iranian prison in 2016, she was given access to a television and was able to watch the Scot’s second victory at the All England Club.
Andy Murray commented: “It’s the strangest and most unbelievable story I’ve ever been told of anyone watching me. I wanted to invite her and let her see tennis in completely different circumstances. I’m really glad she was able to do that. It’s been very emotional talking to her and hearing her story.”
What a story đź’śđź’š#Wimbledon | @andy_murray https://t.co/zu2Zf7ImV3
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 6, 2023
Murray in Wimbledon, ranking, and results in 2023
Currently the world no.40, Murray has achieved a composed 24-10 record in 2023. The Brit is currently having a run in Wimbledon where he ousted the world no.268 Ryan Peniston 6-3 6-0 6-1.
Andy Murray will take on the world no.5 Stefanos Tsitsipas in the 2nd round on Thursday at 4:30 pm on Centre Court. Their actual head to head record is 1-1.
The Brit clinched 3 titles in 2023 in the Aix En Provence Challenger, the Surbiton Challenger and the Nottingham Challenger. Murray was the runner-up in Doha (Qatar ExxonMobil Open).
The Brit won 46 titles in his career: 20 on hard courts, 3 on clay courts, 14 on indoor courts, 1 on carpet courts and 8 on grass courts. (See the list of his titles)
He is also scheduled to play at the U.S. Open (U.S. Open) after Washington. The main draw will start on the 31st of July.