‘I don’t know how much longer this can last,’ says tearful Murray
ANDY MURRAY has cast renewed doubt over his future in tennis with an emotional interview after a comeback win in Australia.
The former world No1 fought back the tears, conceding he did not know “how much longer it’s going to last”.
The 31-year-old had kicked off the new year with a first-round win at the Brisbane International, but became emotional as he spoke about how tough his return from hip surgery has been.
He admitted he did not know how much longer he would be able to play competitive tennis after his 6-3, 6-4 win over James Duckworth.
Murray reflected on his challenging past 18 months, which included a hip operation last January.
In an on-court interview after the tough encounter against Australian Duckworth, he said: “It’s not easy to sort of sum up in one sentence or one answer, it’s been really hard; 18 months, a lot of ups and downs, it’s been tricky to just get back on the court.
“I’m happy I’m back out here again, I want to try and enjoy it as much as I can and just try and enjoy playing tennis as long as I can.
“I don’t know how much longer it’s going to last but we’ll see.”
It was this time last year in Brisbane when Murray decided he would have to have surgery for a problem that first surfaced in the summer of 2017.
He played just half a dozen tournaments in 2018, including an emotionally charged Citi Open in Washington which saw the two-times Wimbledon champion break down in tears following victory over Marius Copil.
Now down at 240 in the world rankings, and 17 in the British rankings, Murray was positive about his win over Duckworth and admitted to feeling anxious beforehand.
“I think for a first match of the new year after quite a long break it was all right,” Murray said.
On New Year’s Eve, the Scotsman posted a tongue-in-cheek picture on Instagram of him surrounded by bottles of alcohol.
He captioned the picture, in which he appears to be mimicking drinking directly from a champagne bottle: “Celebrating the end of 2018. What a s--- year that was.”