Andy Murray reveals getting embarrassed once by Rafael Nadal's comic prank; watch video

British tennis star and 2016 French Open runner-up, Andy Murray revealed a different side of Rafael Nadal in an interaction with the ATP Tour's media personnel. Ahead of the French Open, where he may once again face long-time rival Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray talked about the moment when Rafa pranked him once in a restaurant. Answering a prompt by Stefanos Tsitsipas, asking Murray if he had ever been a part of an inside joke, Murray said that he had indeed been the butt of such a joke once. 

In the interview, Murray said that once, while dining in a restaurant with his wife, he received a dubious text from an unknown number, telling him he looked nice that night. He recalls being creeped out by the text and wondering if he should tell his wife. He decided against that and after an uncomfortable five minutes, Rafa suddenly came from behind and tapped him on the shoulder, admitting that it was he who had texted Murray from his then-girlfriend (now wife Xisca's) phone as a prank!

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Andy Murray's injury-plagued 2019 and return to the men's single circuit

However, life has not been all fun and games for Andy Murray. More than a year and a half ago, in Melbourne, Murray had made some references to a possible retirement from tennis, owing to severe physical pain that left him unable to do even basic day-to-day tasks. The British star had expressed that he might like to make that year's Wimbledon his last but never got a chance to go that far.

Murray pulled out of the singles events Wimbledon Championships that year, having recently undergone surgery for his hip. He concentrated on playing in the Men's Doubles and Mixed Doubles events for months afterwards but did not find much success. At the beginning of this year, he pulled out of the Australian Open 2020 due to a groin injury.

After an extended break, he played at the Cincinnati Open, where he defeated Frances Tiafoe and US Open runner-up Alexander Zverev, in the first two rounds. He was defeated in straight sets by the eventual runner-up Milos Raonic in the Round of 16. The US Open 2020 was Murray's first Grand Slam since the 2019 Australian Open. He had a massive first-round match against Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka, where he fought back from 0-2 in a match that lasted almost five hours. In the second round, the former World No.1 was defeated by 15th seed Felix Auger Aliassime. 

After sitting out of the Rome Masters 2020, an ATP 1000 tournament that begins the clay season, Andy Murray has received a wild card entry to the French Open 2020. This will be Murray's first French Open appearance since 2017 when he lost the semi-final to Stan Wawrinka. The French Open 2020 was postponed to September due to the pandemic. It will begin on September 21, 2020. Notably, it will also be among the first, and only, tennis events to allow an audience this year. 

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Nadal Murray head to head 

The Nadal Murray head to head statistics lean heavily in favour of Rafael Nadal. Rafa has won 17 of the 24 matches he has played against Andy Murray. Meanwhile, Andy Murray has won just 7 matches against Rafa. If the duo meets up at the French Open 2020, it will be their first meeting since 2016, when they met in the semi-final of the Madrid Open. A slightly encouraging fact for Murray will be that, despite the court being an outdoor clay court, Andy Murray defeated the 'King of Clay' Rafael Nadal in straight sets at the match. Murray is currently ranked 110th as compared to Rafa being World No.2.

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