An emotional Andy Murray admitted his will to put himself through the ringer on the court may have at last been extinguished, as he again hinted he could retire from tennis. The double Wimbledon champion crashed out of the Australian Open in the first round on Monday, losing in straight sets to Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
Murray, a five-times a finalist at Melbourne Park, was beaten 6-4 6-2 6-2 by 30th seed Argentine and subsequently admitted there was a ‘definite possibility’ his first round defeat would also be his last appearance at the Australian Open. The 36-year-old cut a despondent figure after his straight sets exit and conceded he did not feel he had anything left to give. Murray’s voice appeared to crack as he spoke to Laura Robson, with whom he won a silver medal in mixed doubles at the 2012 London Olympics.
‘It’s a definite possibility that will be the last time I play here,’ he said after losing to Etcheverry. ‘In comparison to the matches that I played here last year, it’s the complete opposite feeling walking off the court.’ ‘I still feel like I can play good tennis, but it’s not happening when I go out there on the match court and that’s where it matters, not in practice.’ Earlier, Murray offered the biggest hint yet this could be his final year on tour.
‘I’ve spoken to them about it. I’ve spoken to my family about it multiple times,’ he explained. ‘I’ve spoken to my team about it. they’re very aware of how I feel about things, where I would like to finish playing, when that would be. ‘I haven’t made any definite decisions on that. It’s obviously something that I need to think about and see exactly when that is.’
‘I have an idea of when I would probably like to finish, so much of that depends on how you’re playing. The time frame for that narrows when you play and have results like today.’ But while he added the prospect of retirement has long been discussed with his family and team, he insisted no date has been set yet.
