British tennis player and world number one Andy Murray bowed out of Wimbledon, the tournament he won last year, in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.
However, it's Murray's statements in the post-match press conference that are now attracting the most attention. The 30-year-old had no time for a journalist after they referred to Murray's opponent, Querrey, as the "first US player" to reach a major semi-final since 2009.
Andy Murray may have lost, but nothing got past him post-match... #Wimbledon
"Sam is the first US player to reach a major semi-final since 2009, how would you...", asked a reporter, before Murray interrupted.
"Male player," said the world number one, to awkward laughter from the reporter asking the question.
"Ah yes...Male player. That's for sure."
Multiple American tennis superstars, most notably Venus and Serena Williams, have dominated Grand Slam tennis for years, winning dozens of titles between them. Venus is already in the semi-finals of Wimbledon – She'll play Johanna Konta on Thursday.
Murray was praised across social media for his quick response to the "casual sexism". One clip of the press conference has over 20,000 retweets and counting.
Sir Andrew Murray is NOT amused with your casual sexism! #wimbledon
Say what you will about Murray but so rare is the male athlete whose brain is so automatically programmed to credit… https://t.co/fapnvyHuSp
Is Andy Murray the most doggedly feminist *male* player in tennis? This seems to happen every year, but he's always… https://t.co/oDLELzWZMd
Andy Murray continues to call out for feminism. Q: "Sam is the first American to reach the s/f of a slam since 2009." Murray: "Male player."
Andy Murray, fighting the good fight…
Andy Murray - hats off.
Thank you, Sir @andy_murray 🙏🏼👊🏼💪🏼 https://t.co/Ixn2EV40u1
Good to see Andy Murray correcting a journalist on this in his post-match press conference.
And some pointed out this isn't the first time Murray has shut down reporters.
@_JamieMac_ My favorite genre is Murray doing this to reporters
At the very least, Murray's mother was proud.
That's my boy. ❤️ https://t.co/ldZUQ2wbZj
And later Serena responded to Murray's remarks.
This is amazing. Serena was confronted with THAT Andy's answer. "I don't think there is a female athelte who isn't… https://t.co/2D3GVqW8vm
Shown a clip of Murray's press conference, Serena had this response: "I don’t think there is a woman player, and there really shouldn’t be a female athlete, that is not totally supportive of Andy Murray. He has spoken up for women issues, and women’s rights, especially in tennis for forever.
"He does it again, and it’s who he is, and it’s one thing that we love about him. He has such a wonderful mother, who has been such a strong figure in his life and he’s done so much for us on his tour. We love Andy Murray."