Andy Murray made his return to tennis alongside Novak Djokovic in a doubles match against Victoria Azarenka, with the duo losing out to the world No 1 and Zheng Qinwen
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by Glen Williams, Tom Parsons
08:51, 10 Jan 2025
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Andy Murray (Image: Getty Images)
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In a star-studded exhibition doubles match at the Australian Open, Andy Murray teamed up with Victoria Azarenka to face off against Novak Djokovic and Zheng Qinwen.
The event took place on Thursday at the Rod Laver Arena, seeing Djokovic pair up with Zheng to narrowly defeat Murray and Azarenka in front of 15,000 fans during “A Night With Novak”, the charity event launched this year.
Murray, who has begun coaching Djokovic, stepped back onto the court only five months after announcing his retirement from professional tennis. As part of the entertainment, players wore microphones, allowing those in attendance to listen in on their interactions — a feature that let Murray self-deprecatingly comment to spectators about his current playing condition.
Before the match, Murray quipped to the crowd during an on-court interview, expressing his modest expectations about his performance: “Look, I’m dreadful at tennis now. I’ve hardly hit a ball for the last few months, it’s going to be ugly. I need everyone’s support – get behind me, not him, tonight. Please.”
Despite a competitive encounter where sentiments were shared with the live audience through the points, Djokovic and Zheng eked out the win in a tiebreak after the teams split the first six games. After the opening game went to Djokovic and Zheng, Murray playfully apologised to the attendees, saying: “Sorry everyone – I told you I was terrible. I wasn’t lying.”
Britain’s Andy Murray (R) reacts with Victoria Azarenka of Belarus (Image: Getty Images)
After a match filled with sportive spirit, Djokovic expressed contentment, saying: “Yeah I’m happy. Obviously the result isn’t important tonight, it’s about having fun and doing it for the right cause.
“And the show up tonight is incredible. The fans are amazing, they respect the sport and they love tennis. And showing up in these huge numbers is very meaningful to all of us.”
Earlier that evening, the Serbian ace faced off against Alexander Zverev, narrowly losing out to the German in a tiebreak finish. The eventful night concluded with Djokovic partnering with Tokito Oda for a wheelchair doubles match, competing against Dylan Alcott and Heath Davidson, reports the Express.
Murray joins forces with Djokovic next as the latter sets his sights on capturing a record-extending 25th Grand Slam title at the upcoming Australian Open which starts Sunday. Djokovic, a 10-time champion at Melbourne Park, prepares to open his hunt for the title against the American talent Nishesh Basavareddy.
While Jannik Sinner leads the bookies’ predictions as the top favourite with Carlos Alcaraz closely following, Djokovic stands as the third pick despite not securing a Major throughout 2024.
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