Andy Murray has paid tribute to family friend Elena Baltacha, who died of liver cancer on Sunday.
The Scot signed a camera with the word ‘Bally’ and a heart after his 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 victory over Nicolas Almagro in the second round of Mutua Madrid Open yesterday.
Murray had known Baltacha since they were part of the same Scottish team as juniors and his mother, Judy, remained close friends with the former British women’s No1.
“It’s been a tough 10 days or so,” he said. “I kind of had an idea what was going on with Elena because my mum is obviously very close with her and her husband.
“It does make you think about things and you do realise how lucky you are, and that the most important thing is your health.
“The more time that passes the more people will celebrate everything that Bally did because she was a great character, a great person and she got everything she could out of her potential.
“Everyone wants to be Wimbledon champion and to be number one in the world but not everyone can have that.
“The best thing you can do is achieve your potential and I believe she did that. That’s a big credit to her.”
Murray, who is still searching for a coach to replace Ivan Lendl, will face Colombia’s Santiago Giraldo in the next round.
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