'I shed tears when he won Wimbledon': Tennis lover Mourinho praises Murray on injury comeback

Jose Mourinho may have been the 'Special One' on the sidelines of a football pitch but the Portuguese was keen to pay tribute to Andy Murray's 'special' recovery as he continues his comeback in the Queen's doubles championships.

Two-time Wimbledon winner Murray, along with his partner Feliciano Lopez, bested the duo of Dan Evans and Ken Skupski on Saturday evening in London winning 6-4 7-6 (7-3) in a match which was at one point suspended for bad light. 

The pair stayed on the court to being their semi-final Henri Kontinen and John Peers immediately after.

Murray, 32, is making his return to action at the pre-Wimbledon tournament after five months out of action following a career-threatening hip injury. 

One keen observer of Murray's game was former Manchester United, Chelsea and Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho. Speaking to the media after watching Murray, noted tennis fan Mourinho couldn't restrain his admiration for the Scotsman. 

"I try to come most years but wasn't able to until now, but this is a good moment, because Andy plays," Mourinho said.

"It's nice for a sportsman like him in a special moment of his career, it's nice for him to know that the one's that always supported him in the big moments, we also support him in these moments where he is showing what a man he is."

Murray has previously admitted that he feared his career was over because of constant pain in his hip but credits a "life-changing" operation as prolonging his career, something Mourinho was clearly happy to see.

"With his age, with everything he has already won he needs to be really special, in love with the game, and ready to make the effort he is making to be back. That's fantastic, and if he can evolve to play singles again at the highest level, that would be amazing," Mourinho said.

"I shed tears when Murray won Wimbledon, yes, it's true, because for these boys Wimbledon, Roland Garros and these tournaments are like the Champions League for us.

"I would love all the football players to cope with responsibilities the way these guys do it. In football you can hide behind each other. In tennis they can't hide behind anyone."