Hecklers sadly a part of sport, says Murray
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LOS ANGELES • Andy Murray expressed sympathy for Naomi Osaka after she was rattled by a heckler during her second-round loss on Saturday night at Indian Wells but said unruly fans were an unfortunate part of sport.
The Japanese was thrown off her game and began to cry after a person screamed, "Naomi, you suck!" early on in her eventual 6-0, 6-4 loss to Veronika Kudermetova.
After the match, the four-time Grand Slam champion spoke directly to the otherwise supportive crowd, saying the incident reminded her of the abuse Venus and Serena Williams received at the tournament in 2001, which led the Americans to boycott the event for more than a decade.
On the abuse of former world No. 1 Osaka, who has now fallen to 78th after a difficult 2021 that saw her take a break from tennis over mental health issues, Murray said: "It's a difficult one.
"I've often thought watching certain sports, I wouldn't say I've often seen it loads in tennis... but if I watch a football or a soccer match and a player's going to take a throw-in or a corner kick and the crowd are just hurling insults at those individuals.
"I always think, 'How is that allowed?' Like, you can't do that. Obviously, I feel for Naomi, that it upset her a lot but yeah, it's always been something that's been part of sport, I guess, as well.
"So, you know, you have to, I guess, be prepared for that in some ways and be able to tolerate it because it does happen regularly across all sports."
Osaka's exit was followed by Murray's. He lost 7-6 (11-9), 6-3 to Alexander Bublik on Sunday.
Tommy Paul then collected the biggest win of his career with a stunning 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (7-2) victory over third seed Alexander Zverev under the Californian desert lights, while US Open champion Emma Raducanu also suffered disappointment in a 6-7 (3-7), 6-4, 7-5 loss to Petra Martic.
It was the latest setback for Raducanu, who was ousted in the second round of the Australian Open in January.
She was the top seed at Guadalajara last month when a hip injury forced her to retire from her first-round match.
In seven tournaments since her triumph at Flushing Meadows, her best run was into the quarter-finals of the Transylvanian Open in October.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE