AN ELDERLY lady with a youthful spirit has celebrated turning 99 years old by meeting her favourite tennis player.

Dorothy Baird, a lifelong fan of the sport, was treated to lunch at the Cromlix Hotel by her friend and bumped into a familiar face.

The Dollar woman was greeted by world number one Andy Murray, who took the time out of his frantic schedule to sit down and ask her about her life.

And the pair bonded instantly, with Dorothy regaling the two-time Wimbledon champion with the story of how she met her husband.

The couple first crossed paths at a tennis club near Glasgow some years ago, where after missing an attempted lob she cursed in frustration.

Her future partner Dick, who was a member, then wandered round to the court and quipped: “That’s quite enough of that from the ladies’ section.”

From that point onwards, the romance blossomed and there was no looking back.

Laughing with her, Andy is said to have replied: “I’ve missed a few lobs myself in my time and given a few curses.”

She asked him what he was doing for the rest of the afternoon and he mentioned his next stop was London, before she encouraged him to stick in and keep working hard.

Andy wished Dorothy a happy birthday and told her to enjoy the rest of her day.

Her friend Suzanne spoke of how lovely the whole experience was and said it was heartwarming to see Dorothy’s eyes light up.

“She was overjoyed really,” she said. “It was to me as though her years fell away from her face and she looked like a child at Christmas.

“I love the fact that at 99 years, one of the most fantastic moments was still to come. Andy was kind, gentle and attentive.”

As Dorothy blew out the candles, her wish was to make it to 100 and continue to live a happy life.