Murray sets date for retirement
Three- time Grand Slam winner Andy Murray is still hoping to make it to one more Wimbledon tournament before his problematic hip forces him into retirement.
In an emotional news conference, a tearful Murray had to leave the room shortly after his first attempt to get it started, and needed to pause several times to compose himself once it had resumed, he confirmed he would play his first- round match at the Australian Open next week but was not sure how much longer he could continue beyond that.
The 31-year-old Murray said he practiced in the off-season with the main goal of making one last run at Wimbledon, where he ended the 77-year drought for British men with his title in 2013, but now wasn’t sure he’d make it that far.
“I can still play to a level — not a level I am happy playing at,” he said.
“But also, it’s not just that. The pain is too much really.
“I don’t want to continue playing that way. I tried pretty much everything that I could to get it right, that has not worked.”
Murray has reached the final five times at the Australian Open but never won the title. Getting through the first round will be a major achievement in 2019 for the former No. 1, who has slumped to No. 230 after playing just 12 matches last year following surgery on his right hip in January.
He opened this se ason at the Brisbane International, where he won his opening match against James Duckworth but lost in the second round to Daniil Medvedev, showing visible signs of limping between points and struggling to move freely around court. He had an incomplete practice match against long-time friend and top- ranked Novak Djokovic at Melbourne Park, but only won two games.
Murray has been preparing for the 2019 sea- son knowing that his career could be over within months. In his training program last month, he told his support group that the pain was becoming too much and that he needed to set a date for retirement.
“I spoke to my team and I told them I can’t keep doing this, that I needed to have an end point because (I was) sort of playing with no idea when the pain was going to stop,” he told the news conference Friday. “I said to my team ‘I think I can get through to Wimbledon’ … that’s where I would like to stop — stop playing.”
Murray added, becoming tearful again, “But I’m also not certain I’m able to do that.
Murray said he’s considering another hip operation, more to improve his quality of life than as a way of returning to the top level in tennis.
“I have the option to have another operation, which is a little bit more severe than what I’ve had before — having my hip resurfaced,” he said. “That’s something that I’m seriously considering right now. Some athletes have had that and have gone back to competing ( but) the reason for having an operation like that is not to return to professional sports, you know, it’s just for a better quality of life.”