Updated July 13, 2017 14:28:33

Andy Murray has won praise after he interrupted a reporter's question to make an important distinction during his post-match news conference at Wimbledon.

Murray had just lost to Sam Querrey in the quarterfinals at the All England Club, and the question started by referring to Querrey as the "first US player" to reach a major semifinal since 2009.

"Male player," Murray pointed out.

"I beg your pardon?" the journalist asked.

"Male player," Murray repeated.

"Yes, first male player, that's for sure," the journalist said, before continuing with his question.

Querrey is indeed the first American man to make it to the semi-finals at a Grand Slam tournament since Andy Roddick reached the Wimbledon final eight years ago.

But Serena Williams alone has won more than 10 major titles since 2009, and then there is her sister Venus, a Wimbledon semi-finalist last year and this year, for example, not to mention a finalist at the Australian Open in January.

And that is just the Williams sisters. Coco Vandeweghe, Madison Keys and Sloane Stephens also have reached major semi-finals since Roddick's run.

Judy Murray, Andy's mother and a tennis coach, tweeted a quote of the exchange with the comment:

Users on Twitter praised the athlete for standing up against "casual sexism", and Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon described him as a "star ... on and off the court".

Murray has a history of supporting women in tennis.

Last year, when he was congratulated by a BBC presenter for being the first tennis player to win two Olympic gold medals, he reminded the presenter the feat had actually already been accomplished — and outdone — by the Williams sisters.

"I think Venus and Serena won about four each," Murray responded at the time.

In 2014, he became the first high-profile player to hire a female coach when he took on Amelie Mauresmo, a two-time Grand Slam champion.

Writing about their relationship at the time, Murray defended hiring a woman.

"Have I become a feminist?" Murray wrote on his website.

"Well, if being a feminist is about fighting so that a woman is treated like a man then yes, I suppose I have."

ABC/AP

Topics: sport, tennis, women, england, united-kingdom

First posted July 13, 2017 09:48:12