MURRAY: I’D LOVE ROGER & OUT
ANDY MURRAY hopes he will get a final chance to share a court with the great Roger Federer at the Laver Cup. Ahead of Great Britain’s dead-rubber clash in Glasgow with Kazakhstan at the Davis Cup today, Murray admitted the upcoming retirement of the Swiss is a huge blow to tennis.
Federer will make the last appearance of his professional career at the Ryder Cup-style event that he invented, which pits Europe against the rest of the world at London’s O2 Arena.
Murray said: “Obviously he was an amazing player. I was lucky to get to compete against him in some of the biggest matches, in the biggest tournaments, on the biggest stages in our sport.
“At the time I probably didn’t appreciate it as much but now, looking back, it’s pretty amazing. It’s incredible what he achieved and also what Rafa (Nadal) and Novak (Djokovic) have done.
“It’s a sad, sad day for the sport again.an unbelievable career, the longevity that he’s had.what he did in the 2018 Australian Open, when he came back from the knee surgery, was incredible.
“The way that he played the game, conducted himself and all of those things, I think all of the players respected him for that.
I don’t know how much he will be able to play (at the Laver Cup). I haven’t spoken to him about that.
“But maybe I’ll get the opportunity to share a court with him in doubles or something like that, and that would be really special.”
First comes the conclusion of Britain’s Davis Cup involvement today, after defeat to the Netherlands on Friday night confirmed their exit having lost to the USA earlier in the week.
That means the clash with Kazakhstan will count for nothing.
But it won’t stop the crowds flocking to the Emirates Arena in the hope of seeing Murray, 35, in action – with captain Leon Smith having to decide if his fellow Scot,
who has played only doubles with Joe Salisbury this week, will contest a singles match.
In the wake of Friday’s tense three-set defeat to Dutch duowesley Koolhof and Matwe Middelkoop, former world No.1 Murray cut a dejected figure and admitted that motivation for a match with nothing at stake will hardly get the competitive juices flowing. He said: “I have not met a player that loves playing dead rubbers and dead matches.
“It’s a slight flaw with this format in that essentially on the Sunday, on the final day, there is no tennis.
“Well, there’s tennis, but it’s kind of dead, irrelevant, the results of it.
“When you get to my age and this stage of your career, I don’t know how many opportunities I’ll get to still be part of this team.
“We have obviously got a lot of depth now in the singles and the doubles.
“It just wasn’t to be this week. I’m sad
about that.”