Andy Murray beat his old rival Rafa Nadal on Friday night – and then joked new star Emma Raducanu will be a worthy winner of the BBC SPOTY award because she has a real personality.
The Scot beat the Spaniard 6-3 7-5 in an exhibition match at the Mubadala Tennis World Championships in Abu Dhabi.
Raducanu’s appearance at the event was stopped when she contracted Covid this week but she should get the consolation of winning the BBC Sports Personality of the Year tomorrow.
Murray, a three-time winner, said: “I don’t think anyone will be too surprised if that is the outcome. She created one of the biggest global sporting moments of the year.
“I think she deserves to win. Anytime I won, I always got accused of having no personality. She certainly has a fantastic personality. I hope she wins. Good luck to her.”
JUST IN: Andy Murray defeats Rafael Nadal in Spaniard’s first match of injury comeback
Murray will face world No.5 Andrey Rublev in today’s (sat) final after seeing off world No.6 Rafa Nadal in the Spaniard’s first public match since August. It was also their first meeting since 2016 due to injuries.
“It is great to be back on the court and being able to play at this level again after a very long time,” said the Scot.
“We have not played for five or six years. It shows both of us have gone through a lot of injury troubles and issues and it is just great to have the opportunity to be on the court with him again.
“I played a solid match and served well. I didn’t give him too many opportunities. It was a combination of me playing solid and him hardly playing for the last five or six months. I know how that feels. It doesn’t get easier when you get older.”
Nadal missed Wimbledon and the US Open with a foot injury but is aiming to win a record 21st Grand Slam title at the Australian Open next month.
“I am super happy to see Andy playing at this great level after all the things he has been through,” he said.
“For me it is a comeback. It was not a bad match for me.”
The Battle of the Brits event due to be held in Aberdeen next week has been postponed until next year due to rising rates of coronavirus.
Former British No.2 James Ward, 34, has announced his retirement after struggling with knee injuries.
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