Andy: I’ll never be able to replace my highs on court

ANDY MURRAY has revealed his frustration at being forced into retirement before he is “ready”.

And the 31-year-old Scot admitted that in his new life he will never replace the “highs and lows” of winning Wimbledon or losing finals – unless he takes “certain substances”.

Britain’s greatest tennis player said he wanted to bow out at Wimbledon but the fierce pain in his right hip could force him to quit after the Australian Open, where he plays world No.23 Roberto Bautista Agut on Monday.

Murray – who won Wimbledon twice, two Olympic golds, the US Open and the Davis Cup – 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 cannot recreate the high of winning Wimbledon or winning a Davis Cup.

“As much as the lows of losing here (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.

“I don’t anticipate being able to replace that and, again, that’s something that maybe when I finish I will be happy and living a more stable life.

“But I don’t think I will be ever able to replace the highs and lows that tennis has given me.”

Murray became world No.1 for the first time at the 2016 Paris Masters and ensured he ended that year at the top of the pile by beating Novak Djokovic in the final of the ATP World Tour Finals in London.

He admitted he was frustrated at being forced out of the sport by the hip injury that really started causing him problems in 2017. Murray said: “There hasn’t been a day in 18 months when I haven’t spoken to somebody about my hip and said, ‘Look, when do I stop?’.

“I am aware of how difficult that’s going to be. It would be a lot easier for me if it was a decision that I wanted to take, and my performance wasn’t how I wanted it and I wasn’t as good as I was before and the younger 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 because 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 so difficult.”

Murray said he made the decision to quit in December, with a final Wimbledon appearance this year 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 Djokovic in Melbourne’s Margaret Court Arena 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 someone like Novak,” he said.

“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.”