Andy Murray takes the knee in support of Black Lives Matter at Battle of the Brits tennis tournament

Andy Murray was joined by his fellow tennis stars in taking the knee in support of the Black Lives Matter movement during the penultimate day of the Battle of the Brits tournament.

The former British number one was joined by his opponent Dan Evans, and umpire James Keothavong, as they took the knee ahead of their semi-final match yesterday.

Evans, who is the current British number one, beat Murray in a tie-break victory to set up a final with Kyle Edmund at the National Tennis Centre in London later today.

Murray, 33, who has not played a competitive tennis match since November due to injury, has taken a knee before of his games at the tournament – promoted by his brother Jamie Murray.

All of his fellow stars have also taken a knee before their games.  

Murray, 33, who has not played a competitive tennis match since November due to injury, has taken a knee before of his games at the tournament – promoted by his brother Jamie Murray

The move has echoed sports stars across the UK, including Premier League footballers, who all took a knee before kick-off in last week’s round of matches.

The concept began in the US in 2016 when San Francisco 49ers star quarterback Colin Kaepernick knelt during the American national anthem before a pre-season game.

It has since become a symbol of anti-police brutality and anti-racism, which has been adopted as part of the Black Lives Matter movement.

The movement has held protests across the world, most in the US and England, following the death of George Floyd, who died in May after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes.

After the pre-game kneel, Murray opened his match against Evans with a blistering start, despite having not played a competitive game since his appearance at the Davis Cup in November.  

But world number 28 Evans survived Murray’s high-tempo opening to win 1-6 6-3 10-8 in a champions tiebreak. 

The Battle of the Brits tournament has been promoted by Andy’s brother Jamie Murray (pictured second left)

‘In all my matches here my level has dropped off,’ admitted the Scot. ‘I haven’t been able to sustain it long enough but my game is there. I will get there.’

Having come through four matches without any serious hip issues Murray will first play in Sunday’s third place playoff before turning his attention to Washington DC’s Citi Open that starts in mid August and signals the restart of the ATP Tour.

That will be his platform for the US Open – assuming it happens – and he will ignore the smorgasbord of domestic events in the UK now coming up.

Evans will now play Edmund in the Battle of the Brits final, after he too was was forced to come from behind in his match against Cameron Norrie.

The final will be played today at 1pm.