Andy Murray signs off with heartfelt gesture to ‘Bally’

Andy Murray has paid a touching tribute to his friend Elena Baltacha, the former British tennis number one who died of liver cancer.

Playing in his first match since her death on Sunday, he added Baltacha's nickname of Bally with a heart and a kiss to an autograph as he stepped off the court at the Madrid Masters.

Wimbledon champion Murray made the tribute as he signed the lens of a courtside camera after beating Spain's Nicolas Almagro to reach the third round of the tournament.

Baltacha, 30, died peacefully surrounded by friends and family and with her husband Nino Severino at her side.

She was diagnosed with the illness in January, just two months after retiring from tennis and only weeks after she married her long-term coach.

Murray signed the camera at the end of the match with the word ‘Bally’ and a heart, a tribute to former British number one Elena Baltacha, who died from cancer on Sunday.

The pair had known each other since they were part of the same Scottish team as juniors and Murray’s mother Judy remained a close friend of Baltacha.

Murray took part in a tribute to the 30-year-old in Madrid on Monday, and he told reporters in the Spanish capital: “It’s been a tough 10 days or so.

“I kind of kind of had an idea what was going on with Elena because my mum is obviously very close with her and her husband.”

Murray was very happy to have come through such a tough test in the manner that he did. “I hung in and got the job done. It’s what I needed to do.

“He’s a very tough guy to beat on this surface. He was certainly moving a lot better at the end of the match and hitting the ball a lot bigger than he was at the beginning.

“So that was a good one for me to come through. Winning is normally the only thing that matters in sport.”