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. https://t.co/DjgD4ItdMz— Nigel Farage (@Nigel Farage) 1641762898
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 fro… https://t.co/QPK7Iu4dGm— Andy Murray (@Andy Murray) 1641769803
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) 1641773511
I consider this Andy Murray’s fourth Grand Slam https://t.co/oMfjrvjR3a— Graham Ruthven (@Graham Ruthven) 1641772098
Andy Murray rn https://t.co/fqscjQiA9C— Nikhila (@Nikhila) 1641770018
@andy_murray I am making a mental record of the delicious moment when I read this tweet. It's like watching one of… https://t.co/3QF0ISZiiX— Andy Grayson (@Andy Grayson) 1641789922
Oooh I say, that’s a dream volley https://t.co/uyU8nOK4yF— Rory Cellan-Jones (@Rory Cellan-Jones) 1641801295
Game, set and match 🎾 https://t.co/LLzntKPs2L— Steve Peers (@Steve Peers) 1641772568
I know it's only the 9th of January but Andy Murray just won 2022 https://t.co/njK2ihCW0g— Sid 🏳️🌈 (@Sid 🏳️🌈) 1641771484
Perfect!!!! Bravo Andy! https://t.co/dTX7kO19zp— Martina Navratilova (@Martina Navratilova) 1641771211
ARISE SIR ANDY. https://t.co/cVk1LbxwpE https://t.co/GSDe158ErA— Claire 🤙🏻🎾 (@Claire 🤙🏻🎾) 1641770431
Never mind the @AustralianOpen. This tweet deserves its own trophy.🏆 https://t.co/eQYwvZSQf4— The Tennis Observer (@The Tennis Observer) 1641772197
Murray also seemed to get his mother’s approval as Judy Murray retweeted her son’s tweet with a mouth covering emoji.
🤭 https://t.co/7gEae4g4jw— judy murray (@judy murray) 1641771563
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. Concentrate… https://t.co/3WcRoAO8r2— Nigel Farage (@Nigel Farage) 1641807201
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.… https://t.co/TxbD1nwcZ1— 𝗢𝗹𝗶 ⭐ (@𝗢𝗹𝗶 ⭐) 1641811323
The audacity of Farage to accuse someone of being filled with prejudice 😂 https://t.co/9B2S8E5RfB— Annya🥀 (@Annya🥀) 1641810406
Mate you just got ratio’ed by Andy Murray, take it in the chin and let it go lmao. https://t.co/X959ugdcFA— Kohli is King (@Kohli is King) 1641808772
https://t.co/YGXZe9KiUy https://t.co/TNgL6LA1hZ— Ollie Thorpe (@Ollie Thorpe) 1641808064
Farage just accused someone of been “filled with prejudice” ……….. https://t.co/bQGdGXrOVx https://t.co/N0T5hw7yPs— Andy MacFarlane (@Andy MacFarlane) 1641807521
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.
🎣 https://t.co/FZOB6VXLjZ— Andy Murray (@Andy Murray) 1641814926
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.