DOWN AND SHOUT
Andy’s out but backing Jo to lift the ladies’ title
ANDY MURRAY admitted he does not deserve to be world No.1 after crashing out of Wimbledon.
Clearly hampered by a hip injury in his five-set defeat by Sam Querrey, he then urged Johanna Konta to give Britain something to celebrate.
Murray said: “It was going to happen at some stage. I don’t think anyone has ever stayed at No.1 their whole career. It always comes to an end.
“I hope Jo goes on to win the tournament. She’s got a fantastic
chance. There’s no reason why she can’t. Hopefully she goes on to win.” Murray would have lost top spot in the rankings this week had Novak Djokovic won Wimbledon, but received a stay of execution when the Serb retired against Tomas Berdych. A downbeat Murray said: “I haven’t played well enough this year to deserve to stay there for much longer. If it doesn’t happen by the end of this tournament, it will happen by the end of the US Open. “That’s fine. Obviously I would rather be ranked No.1 than 2, 3 or 4. I go away now and try to find a way to get back there. Hopefully I can do that.”
Murray was a doubt ahead of Wimbledon due to his hip problem and after playing through the pain to reach the last eight, world No.28 Querrey proved a tie too far.
After knocking out Djokovic last year, the 6ft 6in American has now dumped the defending champion and world No.1 out of Wimbledon two years running.
Murray remained vague about his injury worries, adding: “I’m not going to go into all the details of exactly what my hip issues are. I’ve been dealing with it for a very long time during my career.
“As you get older, things are tougher to manage than when you’re younger. There’s a bit more wear and tear there.”