Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
MURRAY: END OF AN ERA I WASN’T READY TO RETIRE
SAD FINALE TO A BRILLIANT CAREER:
ANDY MURRAY has revealed his frustration at being forced into retirement before he is “ready”.
And the Scot admitted he will never replace the “highs and lows” of winning Wimbledon or losing finals in his new life – unless he takes “certain substances”.
Britain’s greatest tennis player said he wanted to end his career at Wimbledon, but the fierce pain in his right hip could force him to quit after the Australian Open. He plays world No.23 Roberto Bautista Agut on Monday.
The 31-year-old won Wimbledon twice, two Olympic golds, the US Open and Davis Cup and said: “I don’t think I will fill that void when I retire.
“You can’t – well maybe you can by taking certain substances – but you can’t recreate the high of winning Wimbledon or winning a Davis Cup. You cannot do that.
“As much as the lows of losing here [the Australian Open] for a fifth time hurts. I always had that as a motivation.
“Even in the low points it was something that gave me drive and motivation to get up and work hard and do stuff.
“I don’t anticipate being able to replace that and again that’s something that maybe when I finish I will be happy, living a more stable life. But I don’t think I will be ever able to replace the highs and lows that tennis have given me.”
He ended the years as world No.1 in 2016 by beating Novak Djokovic in the final of the ATP World Tour Finals and admitted he was frustrated at being forced out of the game by the hip injury that started causing serious problems at the French Open in 2017.
“There hasn’t been a day when I haven’t spoken to somebody about my hip in 18 months and discussion about ‘Look, when do I stop?’
“I am aware of how difficult that will be. I think it would be a lot easier for me if it was a decision I wanted to take and my performance wasn’t how I wanted it and I just wasn’t as good as I was before and the young guys are better.
“Therefore challenging for big tournaments and stuff is not possible any more. But because this is not something that I want to do – I don’t want to stop playing tennis just now, I don’t feel ready, the rest of my body feels perfect.
“That’s the hard thing about it. It’s not like I wake up and my whole body’s sore and just aching and it’s too much. It’s just one problem that can’t be fixed. That’s why it’s difficult.”
Murray said the decision to quit was made in December, with a final Wimbledon appearance his target. But his preparations for the Australian Open have brought home his problems.
The world No.230 played a practice match against world No.1 Novak Djokovic in the Margaret Court Arena here on Thursday. The two former teenage rivals had played four finals here – with the Serb winning every time – but this time it really was no contest as the limping Murray was able to hold his serve only once.
“I don’t always play that well in practice and I certainly don’t go into any match or practice expecting to win against Novak,” he added.
“It has nothing to do with the result of the practice, it’s the feeling that I had during the practice, you just kind of feel like helpless on the court and it’s just… it sucks.”