Murray in no hurry to quit
ANDY WARNED BY EX-PROS
ANDY MURRAY will bid for his 700th ATP Tour win against Jannik Sinner in Dubai today after insisting he is too young to quit the game.
The doubleWimbledon champion, 34, won his first Tour match at Queen’s Club in June 2005 when the Italian world No.10 was only three.
A second-round win at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships today would mean Murray becomes the 18th man in the Open era to join the 700 club, and the fourth active player after Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
The three-time Grand Slam event winner stated reaching 700 career victories was one of his aims at the start of the season, along with reaching 50 titles – he has 46 – and going “deep” in another major.
But after his 699th win over Chris O’Connell in the first round, Murray gave further insight into why he keeps competing with one metal hip and four young children at home.
“I have spoken to a lot of ex-players,” he said. “A lot of them have said keep playing as long as you can. Nothing will replace it. Some have maybe regretted stopping too soon. I still feel I can compete at the highest level. I have goals, and I still believe I can play much better. Since I came back from hip surgery, I’ve won against Zverev, Berrettini, Norrie, Hurkacz, Alcaraz. There’s a number of guys that are in the top 25, top 30 in the world. I think I’ve beaten 12 or 13 of them since I came back.” World No.89 Murray is back working with his old coach Dani Vallverdu after losing in the second round of the Australian Open following his final defeat in the Sydney Tennis Classic.
He gained revenge on Taro Daniel in the Qatar Open for his shock Melbourne loss – then won only one game in the second round against Roberto Bautista Agut.
“The consistency certainly has not been there – I’m totally aware of that,” the Brit said.
“But there have been times where I played well. The last seven, eight months have been tough. I want to try and get my coaching situation sorted. The inconsistency for me has been more frustrating because I’m not sure exactly why it’s been so up and down. I need to try and change that.”
British No.2 Dan Evans saved six match points before losing 6-4 7-5 to No.2 seed and Marseille champion Andrey Rublev in Dubai yesterday. Alexander Zverev beat Jenson Brooksby 3-6 7-6 6-2 at the Mexican Open in a contest that ended at 4.55am – the latest finish to a professional match.