Ukrainian Ambassador to the US hails Andy Murray for his prize money donation to Ukraine relief fund ahead of Citi Open

Andy Murray's efforts to aid war-affected children in Ukraine received a massive boost after the Citi Open organizers announced they would match Murray's prize money donation this week. The British tennis superstar earned a lot of applause for his campaign from Oksana Markarova, Ukraine's Ambassador to the United States.

Earlier this year, Murray announced that he would donate the entirety of his prize money earned for the rest of the season towards a UNICEF relief fund, helping those affected by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Murray will also donate the prize money from his participation in the Citi Open in Washington, D.C. this week. A further donation matching his prize money will be made by the tournament.

Reacting to the same, Ambassador Markarova thanked the Brit and the Citi Open for their great gesture. Markarova urged her followers to catch Andy Murray's opening match at the 2022 Citi Open on Monday.

"Even if you are not into tennis, there is serious reason not to miss Monday Match: Citi Open is matching Andy Murray prize money donation to Ukraine aid efforts this week. THANK YOU dear Andy & Citi Open for help and attention to our fight for freedom," Oksana Markarova said in a tweet.

Citi Open chairman Mark Ein made the announcement earlier this week and said they were inspired by Murray's initiative.

"That really inspired us and we’re announcing today that whatever Andy makes here and donates to UNICEF, we're going to match it," Ein said in a statement.

Additionally, tournament organizers have launched a portal where fans can contribute to the initiative and pledge an amount for Murray's matches this week.

Murray has donated all of his prize money since the Indian Wells Masters in March, shortly after the war began in Ukraine. So far, the three-time Grand Slam champion has donated more than $300,000 through this initiative, and this number will only increase with his Citi Open participation and at the remaining events this season. The winner of the ATP 500 tournament in Washington, D.C. will earn prize money worth $342,800.

Speaking during a pre-tournament press conference, the 35-year-old said that he hopes to have a deep run at the Citi Open, which will provide a sizeable donation to the fund.

"It’s brilliant. Thanks a lot to Mark and all the team here for supporting that. It shows that when the players and the tournaments work together, that really good things can happen. Hopefully I can have a good run and lots of the fans can get involved, too, raise a lot of money this week," Murray stated.

"You can’t just forget about this, It’s still going on" - Andy Murray on the Ukraine crisis

Andy Murray at The Championships - Wimbledon 2022

While he was happy about getting support from Ein and his team towards his efforts, Andy Murray also spoke of the vital importance of keeping the Ukraine issue in the spotlight. The British player believes that the ongoing crisis in Ukraine has taken a backseat and needs to be talked about a lot more.

"It’s not the main story on the news every day like it was back then," Murray said. "You can’t just forget about this. It’s still going on. People are still getting killed, children are still having to flee their homes, and are in really, really tragic situations. I think it’s important that the media continues to shine a light on it, keep talking about it," he said.

Meanwhile, Andy Murray begins his 2022 Citi Open campaign against Mikael Ymer on Monday in what is expected to be a tough match. Murray will face Aslan Karatsev in the next round if he wins Monday's clash. He could then face second seed Hubert Hurkacz in the quarterfinals. American Reilly Opelka, the fourth seed, is a likely semifinal opponent. Andrey Rublev is the top seed at the 2022 Citi Open.