• Wimbledon

Prime Minister calls for Murray knighthood

ESPN staff
July 8, 2013

David Cameron says Andy Murray should be knighted after becoming the first Brit to win the Wimbledon men's singles since Fred Perry 77 years ago.

Murray, who triumphed over world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the final, met the Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street on Monday.

Speaking afterwards, Cameron said: "These honours are decided independently, but quite frankly I can't think of anyone who deserves one more.

"It was a fantastic day for Andy Murray, for British tennis and for Britain.

"We were wondering on Sunday morning, 'Do we dare to dream that this is possible?' He proved absolutely that it was."

The Prime Minister cannot personally award an honour to the 26-year-old as they are decided independently through nominations for their achievements by members of the public and whether they are given an honour - and the type of honour - is decided by a committee.

The committee's decision goes to the PM and then to the Queen.

When Murray was told of Cameron's claim, he smiled and said: "It's a nice thing to have or be offered but I don't know if [winning Wimbledon] merits that."

Recent sporting knighthoods

  • Athletics: Mary Peters, Kelly Holmes, Tanni-Grey Thompson, Sebastian Coe
  • Boxing: Henry Cooper
  • Cycling: Chris Hoy, Sarah Storey, Bradley Wiggins
  • Football: Alex Ferguson,Trevor Brooking, Bobby Robson
  • Golf: Nick Faldo
  • Horse racing: Henry Cecil
  • Rowing: Steve Redgrave, Matthew Pinsent
  • Rugby: Clive Woodward, Ian McGeechan
  • Yachting: Ellen MacArthur, Ben Ainslie

Murray also met a cluster of politicians, including Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Labour leader Ed Miliband.

After meeting the Wimbledon champion, Mr Clegg tweeted: "Pleasure to meet @andy_murray today. He's a true British champion who made tennis history yesterday."

And Mr Miliband told his followers: "Fantastic to meet @Andy_Murray and see the famous Wimbledon trophy up close after yesterday's amazing win."

The Queen has awarded knighthoods to several sportsmen in recent years, including Olympic-winning cyclist Sir Bradley Wiggins in 2013 and former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson in 1999.

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