Andy Murray wants Serena Williams’s US Open farewell to be a celebration

Andy Murray believes the focus of Serena Williams’s final matches should be on a celebration of her career and legacy rather than dwelling on her form after a year of not competing at the top level.

“She has hardly played in the last few years,” said Murray. “Expectations on her run should be very low. The celebrations of her career should be really, really high. When I first found out, I was sad about it, but at the same time, she will probably want this week to be about everything she has achieved, having a really nice send-off – more of a celebration than being really upset that it is the end.”

Williams, 40, announced her imminent retirement this month in Vogue and the US Open is expected to be the final tournament of her career. As Williams says farewell, Emma Raducanu will return to the US Open for her title defence. After her wins over Williams and Victoria Azarenka at the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati, Murray believes that Raducanu will perform well.

“I saw most of the match against Serena and then the one against [Jessica] Pegula; even though she lost that one she is playing much better,” he said. “The balls they use over here help a lot, they are a lot lighter, the women’s ball. That allows her to get more on her shots, on her serves, she seems like she enjoyed the conditions last week. I’d imagine it with it being quick here in New York she will enjoy them. I’d expect her to play well next week.”

For Murray this period has been frustrating as he tries to find a solution to his recent cramping issues to give himself the best chance of competing more consistently.

Since the US summer hard-court swing began, Murray has suffered from cramping in the majority of his matches, without any prior warning.

Afte