Andy Murray was known for his dry humor throughout his career, and the three-time Grand Slam champion took a dig at the upcoming Six Kings Slam Exhibition in a social media post.
Murray is adjusting to life away from professional tennis after making his final appearance at this year's Olympics in the men's doubles. He and Dan Evans memorably saved match points in the opening two rounds.
The Briton's illustrious career ended after he was defeated in the quarterfinal by Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul. The emotional 37-year-old received a deserved ovation to mark the end of his time as a professional tennis player.
Murray admitted he was worried about stepping away from professional tennis but has found the process easier than expected. Losing weight was one unexpected consequence of his retirement.
The 2013 and 2016 Wimbledon champion has also been more active on social media, entertaining fans with his updates about post-retirement life. Murray continued that trend by replying on X(formerly Twitter) to a post about the Six Kings Slam Exhibition.
The exhibition in Saudi Arabia, which will be held from October 16th to 19th, features Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, and Holger Rune.
Djokovic and Nadal received a bye to the semifinal in the Six Kings Slam Exhibition draw, while the other four players will have to fight to join those two legends in the semifinals.
While the huge financial reward was undoubtedly a significant reason why those six players elected to play in the exhibition, many were also impressed by the five-minute tournament promo.
Special effects were used, and the players were presented in various roles. For example, Djokovic was the "Leader of Wolves," while Nadal was the "Clay Warrior." The promo received much online attention.
British player Liam Broady was one of those impressed by the promo. He said it was the best he had ever seen for a tennis event and that the effects made it seem like it was promoting a movie.
"Speechless as to how damn cool this promo is. Probably best I’ve ever seen in tennis. Would watch this movie. 10/10."
However, Murray, who regularly banters with Broady on social media, replied that the Six Kings Slam is not a movie and that Broady would not watch it because nobody cares about an exhibition event.
"Except it’s not a movie and you won’t watch it because it’s an exhibition tennis event that nobody cares about."
Broady responded to Murray's cutting reply to his original post, saying that his legendary compatriot was being very negative in his assessment of the promo and the exhibition tournament.
"Man why you so negative."
It seems clear that Murray's reply was humorous, but it will be interesting to see how much attention the Six Kings Slam gets. Although it is only an exhibition, the high-profile names should generate interest.
Some might oppose watching the event because of the country's human rights record. Nadal has received particularly stinging criticism from some fans for being a tennis ambassador for the Saudi Tennis Federation.
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