"He was like a second coach" - Andy Murray explains his touching gesture towards fan after receiving "constant" support during Indian Wells 1R win

Andy Murray explained why he gave his towel to a fan after his win against David Goffin at the Indian Wells Masters.

The Brit dispatched Goffin 6-3, 6-2 in the first round of the competition on Thursday (March 7). He played some of his best tennis in recent years in the match against the Belgian, and one fan in particular was enjoying the former World No. 1's clinic in Indian Wells.

After the match, Murray was seen handing a towel to the fan in the stands. He was asked to address the incident during his on-court interview, to which he replied (via The Telegraph):

"It was constant cheering during the match [from the fan], but it wasn’t just like ‘Come on'. It was ‘This is the best I’ve ever seen you serve, man,’ and, ‘You’re moving great considering all your problems.’ And I was like ‘Yeah, thanks.’ I need a bit of that when I’m getting a bit down on myself. He was like a second coach."

Murray won a massive 85% and 76% of the points on his first and second serve, respectively. He also didn't give Goffin a single chance to break his serve and converted three of the five break point opportunities he created.

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Andy Murray hints at reduced participation in tournaments

Andy Murray's best finish at the Indian Wells Masters came in 2009 as a finalist.

Andy Murray, 36, is evidently past his best. There is a lot of talk surrounding his potential retirement from the sport but the Brit has, time and again, stated that he will retire on his own terms.

The three-time Grand Slam champion has a 3-6 singles record this year. In fact, he started the year with four consecutive first-round exits; at the ATP 250 in Brisbane, Marseille, and Montpellier, and the Australian Open. The last of his 46 ATP singles titles came in 2019 in Antwerp.

Murray recently admitted that he will reduce his participation in tournaments after this summer and said (via BBC):

"I'm bored of the question to be honest (about retirement). I'm not going to talk more about that between now and whenever the time comes for me to stop. But I don't plan on playing much past this summer."

Murray's next task is a second-round match against World No. 5 Andrey Rublev at the Indian Wells Masters on Friday (March 8). The two have played each other twice on the tour, winning one match each.