Andy Murray savagely (and hilariously) ripping into Nigel Farage certainly wasn’t on our 2022 bingo card - but ten days into the year, here we are.
Farage was celebrating Novak Djokovic’s recent appeal win over the Australian government’s decision to deny him entry into the country.
Although the world number one confirmed he was not vaccinated against Covid, he has claimed he is exempt from Australia’s strict vaccination policy because he tested positive for Covid in December.
Of course, Farage has been poking his nose in on the matter by supporting the Serbian tennis star while also moaning about Australia’s tight border controls (which is strange considering he’s previously been a staunch advocate for Australian-style border controls be enforced in the UK).
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It seems Farage has gotten friendly with the Djokovic family as he posted a clip on Twitter where he was being shown Djokovic’s trophy room with the tennis star’s brother Djordje.
“This is pretty amazing,” Farage can be heard saying before greeting other people in the room.
In the trophy room with Novak's brother Djordje. pic.twitter.com/DjgD4ItdMz
— Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) January 9, 2022
But Andy Murray wasn’t going to let this slide without pointing out the massive irony of it all and in response cheekily wrote:
“Please record the awkward moment when you tell them you’ve spent most of your career campaigning to have people from Eastern Europe deported,” with a winky face emoji.
Please record the awkward moment when you tell them you’ve spent most of your career campaigning to have people from Eastern Europe deported.😉 https://t.co/rfFn1hdXlu
— Andy Murray (@andy_murray) January 9, 2022
It’s fair to say people on Twitter loved Murray’s grand slam dunking on Farage - and added some tennis puns for good measure to demonstrate this.
Seems Andy Murray serves up aces in more than one arena....👏 https://t.co/Txrod0bazW
— stellacreasy (@stellacreasy) January 10, 2022
I consider this Andy Murray’s fourth Grand Slam https://t.co/oMfjrvjR3a
— Graham Ruthven (@grahamruthven) January 9, 2022
Andy Murray rn pic.twitter.com/fqscjQiA9C
— Nikhila (@kokudum) January 9, 2022
I am making a mental record of the delicious moment when I read this tweet. It's like watching one of your glorious backhand straight drive down the line winners.
— Andy Grayson (@AndyGrays0n) January 10, 2022
Thank you for that.
Oooh I say, that’s a dream volley https://t.co/uyU8nOK4yF
— Rory Cellan-Jones (@ruskin147) January 10, 2022
Game, set and match 🎾 https://t.co/LLzntKPs2L
— Steve Peers (@StevePeers) January 9, 2022
I know it's only the 9th of January but Andy Murray just won 2022https://t.co/njK2ihCW0g
— Sid 🏳️🌈 (@HertsSid) January 9, 2022
Perfect!!!! Bravo Andy! https://t.co/dTX7kO19zp
— Martina Navratilova (@Martina) January 9, 2022
ARISE SIR ANDY. https://t.co/cVk1LbxwpE pic.twitter.com/GSDe158ErA
— Claire ✌🏼🎾 (@brooksybradshaw) January 9, 2022
Never mind the @AustralianOpen. This tweet deserves its own trophy.🏆 https://t.co/eQYwvZSQf4
— The Tennis Observer (@tennisobservr) January 9, 2022
Murray also seemed to get his mother’s approval as Judy Murray retweeted her son’s tweet with a mouth covering emoji.
— judy murray (@JudyMurray) January 9, 2022
Safe to say Farage wasn’t very amused at Murray’s zinger. The former Brexit Party leader said the tennis star is “filled with prejudice” and told him to “concentrate on the tennis” and “crack a smile every now and again.”
“Dear Andy, you clearly don’t understand politics or the Brexit campaign but are filled with prejudice. Concentrate on the tennis and, a word of advice, crack a smile every now and again,” with a smiley face emoji.
Dear Andy, you clearly don't understand politics or the Brexit campaign but are filled with prejudice.
— Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) January 10, 2022
Concentrate on the tennis and, a word of advice, crack a smile every now and again. 😃 https://t.co/8s943WUSQ1
That shot failed to clear the net if you ask us - and others agreed too.
Politician sticking his nose into tennis tells tennis player with political opinion to stick to tennis. #NovaxDjocovid https://t.co/Aym3lGaglZ
— 𝗢𝗹𝗶 ⭐ (@01ivi3r1u6) January 10, 2022
The audacity of Farage to accuse someone of being filled with prejudice 😂 https://t.co/9B2S8E5RfB
— Annya🥀 (@AnnyaRoses) January 10, 2022
In other news, pot calls kettle black https://t.co/w21mJgTbnr
— Steve⭐️⭐️ (@xelmota) January 10, 2022
Mate you just got ratio’ed by Andy Murray, take it in the chin and let it go lmao. https://t.co/X959ugdcFA
— PurplePatel (@sree9819) January 10, 2022
https://t.co/YGXZe9KiUy pic.twitter.com/TNgL6LA1hZ
— Ollie Thorpe (@OllieThorpe97) January 10, 2022
Farage just accused someone of been “filled with prejudice” ……….. https://t.co/bQGdGXrOVx pic.twitter.com/N0T5hw7yPs
— Andy MacFarlane (@andy_macca89) January 10, 2022
Though Murray was clearly amused at Farage’s response and replied to it with a fishing pole emoji - alluding to the fact the broadcaster took the bait.
— Andy Murray (@andy_murray) January 10, 2022
Speaking on Djokovic’s situation, Murray previously said as quoted by Australian newspaper The Age: “I think everyone is shocked by it to be honest.”
“I’m going to say two things on it just now. The first thing is that I hope that Novak is OK. I know him well, and I’ve always had a good relationship with him and I hope that he’s OK.
“It’s really not good for tennis at all, and I don’t think it’s good for anyone involved,” he added.
Murray is set to play Viktor Durasovic tomorrow in the Sydney Tennis Classic after being given a wildcard to play in the event.
The 34-year-old is also a wildcard in the Australian Open which begins on 17 January.
