Andy Murray breaks down in tears after missing his beloved grandmother’s funeral to win Davis Cup match for Great Britain

Andy Murray cried on court after beating Switzerland’s Leandro Riedi in the Davis Cup as he revealed he missed his grandmother’s funeral so he could play.

The 36-year-old Scot broke down during his on-pitch interview when he told the crowd of almost 10,000 at the Manchester Arena: “Today is a difficult day for me because it’s my grandmother’s funeral today.

The three-time Grand Slam champion fought back tears as he spoke to Naomi Broady before being met with a huge show of support from the crowd who cheered and applauded the veteran tennis star.

His grandmother Ellen, alongside his father Willie, has long been one of his biggest fans, but previously admitted she was too nervous to watch his Wimbledon final against Roger Federer in 2012, which he unfortunately lost.

Ellen, from Kilsyth, North Lanarkshire, has often spoken of her pride in her superstar grandson, who she says is “very emotional” and “soft-hearted”.

Murray struggled to get his words out and apologized to his family for not being present at the funeral.

Andy and Jamie Murray pictured with their grandmother Ellen in 2012

Ellen already told Daily check-in of the moment Andy, or Andrew to her, rushed from New York to her husband Gordon’s bedside in Galsgow before his death in 2016.

She said: “Andrew, God love him, was there at her bedside, holding her hand the whole time. He said to me, “I arrived on time, grandmother,” and I said, “That’s good, my son.”

It was revealed that Andy had also missed Gordon’s funeral to play the Davis Cup that same year, but was said to have spent the previous day with his beloved grandmother.

Speaking before Andy’s Wimbledon final defeat to Federer in 2012, Ellen told the Mirror: ‘To me, Andrew is just my grandson. It’s hard to believe he’s the one doing this, he’s so successful.

“He played tennis near the house and in the garden with Jamie.”

“We are proud of our entire family, especially Andrew today. It took him a while to get over it when Federer beat him last time at the Australian Open, but he can be proud of himself whether he wins or loses.

“I don’t even know how I would feel if he won. We just wish him well and we will pray for him.

Ellen revealed at the time that she was unaware of Andy’s decision to retire in 2019 before announcing it in an emotional press conference, but admitted he had a “great career”.

She told the Daily Record: “I didn’t know Andrew was going to retire, so it’s news to me. It’s been a great career and I’m very proud of him, but his health comes first, right?

“As a grandmother, I watch him on TV, if he starts crying I just want to give him a hug. Andrew is very emotional, he’s a little bit soft-hearted.

Murray then sat back in his chair and buried his head in his towel after the interview while taking a moment to think about his late grandmother.

Murray drew lengthy applause from the 9,000 crowd at the AO Arena in Manchester.

After yesterday’s game, Murray apologized to his family for not being able to attend the ceremony for his grandmother as he was visibly overcome with emotion.

He dedicated his 6-7 6-4 6-4 victory over Riedi, which put Great Britain 1-0 up as they attempted to advance to the final of the competition, to his late great- mother, saying “Grandma, this one is for you”.

No one, apparently not even team management, was aware of the outside events affecting Murray until Broady drew attention to a 90-year-old lady in the crowd named Pat who was attending his all first live tennis match.

Broady told Murray he was the grandmother’s “favorite player” and explained that she had only turned 90 last week.

She then asked if she could get her a belated birthday present, to which Murray replied: “I have a few sweaty T-shirts, I’m sure I can find one for her”, before melting down in tears.

Murray later explained after the game why he decided to play: “I talked to my dad about it and he said, you know, she would want you to play. He said make sure you win, so I did.

He then suggested that he had kept the situation to himself, knowing that he was expected to join the team to face Switzerland.

Murray said: “I hadn’t discussed it with Leon. Regarding this selection, we talked about it on Sunday.

“My record against lefties is very good, and we expected one. We only talked about Riedi an hour before the match. It was a bit of a surprise when that changed.

He beat Switzerland’s Leonardo Riedi in grueling fashion on Friday, winning 6-7, 6-4, 6-4.

The Swiss selection almost worked with the talented but erratic Riedi who started on service returns and came close to an upset before being broken at 2-2 in the deciding match.

Captain Leon Smith later confirmed he knew nothing of the outside factors involving Murray.

He said: “I actually didn’t know. It just shows his strength of character to do what he did today.

“It will have been very difficult for him. What he does next is truly incredible, and what he did for the team was also vitally important.

Later, Dan Evans and Neal Skupski won a decisive doubles match to seal a 2-1 Davis Cup victory, putting Great Britain top of the four-team group, ahead of Sunday’s final match against France.