Murray loses a five- set epic, says ‘gave everything I had’
AUSTRALIAN OPEN RD 1 Scot loses to Bautista Agut; Federer, Nadal advance
MELBOURNE: If this was it for Andy Murray, if this truly was it, he gave himself — and an appreciative, raucous crowd that included his mother and brother — quite a gutsy goodbye, the type of nevergive-in performance he’s famous for. What Murray could not quite do Monday at the Australian Open was finish off a stirring comeback and prolong what might just be the final tournament of his career.
Playing on a surgically repaired right hip so painful that pulling on socks is a chore, he summoned the strength and strokes to erase a big deficit and force a fifth set before eventually succumbing to 22nd-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-7 (4), 6-2, Murray’s first openinground loss at a Grand Slam tournament in 11 years. “If this was my last match ... I gave literally everything I had,” Murray told a Melbourne Arena, his voice shaking. “It wasn’t enough tonight.”
Murray is a year removed from the operation, and he announced in the days leading up to the Australian Open that he will retire in 2019. The biggest question is whether he’ll be able to make it to Wimbledon. Murray later said he would make a decision on further surgery that could end his career “within a week”.
HOPES REMAIN
He had raised the prospect that he might not be able to continue this week, although he did leave a bit of room for himself after the match, saying: “Maybe I’ll see you again. I’ll do everything possible to try. If I want to go again, I’ll need to have a big operation (and) there’s no guarantees I’ll be able to come back, anyway.”
Even with a hitch in his gait, even as he leaned forward to rest his hands on his knees between points, Murray summoned the strength and the strokes to push the match beyond the 4-hour mark. The fans roared when Murray managed to break back to 2-all on the way to taking the third set, with his mom, Judy, smiling widely as she stood alongside other spectators. They chanted his name when he grabbed the fourth set. They rose when the contest ended.
Afterward, a video was shown in the stadium with tributes to Murray from various players, including rivals Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, along with Nick Kyrgios, Caroline Wozniacki, Karolina Pliskova and Sloane Stephens.
“Amazing career. Congratulations, buddy,” Federer said. “I’m your biggest fan.”
FEDERER PROGRESSES
Federer opened his bid for a third consecutive Australian Open championship, and record seventh overall, with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Denis Istomin at Rod Laver Arena. Nadal, whose 17 career majors are second among men only to Federer’s 20, over- powered Australian wild-card entry James Duckworth 6-4, 6-3, 7-5 earlier.
Nadal, who had surgery on his right ankle in November, hadn’t competed since stopping during his U.S. Open semifinal in September because of a bad knee.
“It’s very difficult to start (again) after an injury,” Nadal said. “I know it very well.”
Other major title winners who advanced on Day 1 included defending champion Caroline Wozniacki, Maria Sharapova — who beat Harriet Dart 6-0, 6-0 — Angelique Kerber, Sloane Stephens and Petra Kvitova. The highest-seeded player to exit was No. 9 John Isner, who hit 47 aces but lost 7-6 (4), 7-6 (6), 6-7 (4), 7-6 (5) against 97th-ranked Reilly Opelka.the most attention, though, was drawn by Murray, who is as popular for his success on the court as his attitude away from it.for all that Murray accomplished over the years, including reaching No. 1 in the rankings and a pair of Olympic singles gold, he never was able to leave Melbourne with the trophy, finishing runner-up five times.
When Murray eventually succumbed to his weariness - not to mention Bautista Agut - the arena speakers blared Queen’s “We are the Champions,” with its fitting line: “And we’ll keep on fighting ‘til the end.”
If this was, indeed, the end, Murray did just that.