Tennis champion Dylan Alcott has been reduced to tears in the middle of his Australian Open press conference after receiving a text message from one of his “idols”.
The Australian of the Year was addressing the media following his quad wheelchair singles final on Thursday when he became overcome with emotion after seeing a message pop up on his phone.
Alcott had just gone down to Dutchman Sam Schröder 7-5, 6-0, in what was his last ever professional tennis match, when he received a heartfelt text from fellow tennis champ Andy Murray.
“This just sums up how it’s changed,” Alcott said while reading out the message.
“I hope he doesn’t mind this.
“But Andy Murray just messaged me: ‘I don’t know if I’ve articulated that well but you’re an absolute rock star and inspiration. Thanks for everything that you’ve done.’”
“That kills me… Makes me want to cry. It’s special. Like you’re just a part of it,” Alcott said through tears.
“They don’t even care you’re in a wheelchair. They don’t give a s**t. Sorry to swear.
“It’s special. It’s so nice. It’s like that everywhere. I never thought that would happen, like it’s cool. It’s really cool.
Alcott said the message and support from Murray was “better than winning a tennis tournament”
“There’s a legend of the sport getting around wheelchair tennis… If it’s good enough for someone like that, it’s good enough for everyone.
“Sorry I didn’t mean to cry”.
The 31-year-old finished his press conference by admitting he “definitely felt ready to retire” from tennis now because “the wins mean less and the losses don’t hurt as much”.
WATCH:
.@DylanAlcott read out a touching message from @andy_murray in his post-match press conference, saying it shows just how far wheelchair tennis has come ??#AusOpen pic.twitter.com/VvIlnCGzgi
— ? (@drivevolleys) January 27, 2022
