'Siuuu', it's incredibly irritating: Murray

MELBOURNE • For moments during his riveting opening-round win at the Australian Open on Tuesday, Andy Murray was under the impression that he was being booed by a section of the crowd at the boisterous John Cain Arena.

The former world No. 1 made his displeasure clear during his post-match interview, only to find out later that a few fans were actually imitating Cristiano Ronaldo's famous "Siuuu!" goal celebration.

"That's painful stuff there. Those guys..." the Scot said, breaking off during an answer on court at what seemed like jeers from a section of the stands after his win over Georgia's Nikoloz Basilashvili.

Football fans are used to seeing Manchester United striker Ronaldo customarily running to the corner flag on the pitch after scoring, leaping and spinning and then landing with his arms outstretched as supporters join in from the stands roaring "Siuuu!" in unison, meaning "Yes" in Spanish.

But for the uninitiated, it sounds like "boo" and Murray said he could not figure out why people appeared to be jeering him at first.

"Initially, I thought it was jeering, because there were some people booing during my practice yesterday. I have no idea what for," a smiling Murray later said.

"But then after a few times it was like, no, they're doing that, it's like 'Siuuu' or something that Ronaldo does when he scores. And, yeah, it was incredibly irritating."

The 34-year-old received plenty of support from the crowd during his match, setting up the mood for Australian Nick Kyrgios to take the court against another British player Liam Broady.

Kyrgios himself did a Ronaldo imitation after his victory as the fans got behind the tennis maverick.

"Yeah, it's just a stupid (thing), I can't believe they did it so much. They were doing some Ronaldo thing. Ronaldo does it every time he scores," the 26-year-old Canberra native said.

"It's like - I thought they were going to do it for like 10 minutes.

"They did it for 21/2 hours, like every point. I don't know why... It was a zoo out there."

Broady seemed to think he was booed onto court before the clash.

"It's the first time I've ever walked onto a tennis court and been booed, which for me was a crazy experience," he said.

Murray will be in action today against 28-year-old New York-born Japanese Taro Daniel, whose father is American.

Kyrgios will face world No. 2 Russian Daniil Medvedev, the reigning US Open champion, on Rod Laver Arena in a blockbuster clash.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS