Pained Murray says Australian Open could be his swansong

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Pained Murray says Australian Open could be his swansong

By Ian Ransom

 

Andy Murray of England speaks to the media during a press conference at the Australian Open in Melbourne, Australia, January 11, 2019. AAP Image/Daniel Pockett/via REUTERS

 

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Andy Murray may retire after the Australian Open, with the severe pain from his troublesome right hip having become almost unbearable for him to play on, the former world number one said on Friday.

 

Overcome with emotion, the three-times Grand Slam champion wept at a media conference as he revealed that he had initially planned to quit after playing this year's Wimbledon tournament but now felt Melbourne Park might end up his swansong.

 

"There’s a chance of that, for sure, because I’m not sure I’m able to play through the pain for another four or five months," the 31-year-old Briton, now ranked 230th in the world, said.

 

"The pain is too much, really, and I don’t want to continue playing that way.

 

"The pain is not allowing me to enjoy competing or training or any of the stuff I love about tennis."

 

Five-times a runner up at Melbourne Park, Murray had surgery on the joint a year ago, having played with pain for a number of years.

He came back last June but was forced to cut his 2018 season short.

 

While still struggling during a pre-season camp in December, Murray said he had told his team that he felt he could not go on for much longer.

 

"Just playing with no idea when the pain was going to stop, and I felt like making that decision," he said.

 

"I said to my team, ‘Look, I think I can kind of get through this until Wimbledon.' That was where I’d like to stop -- stop playing. But I’m also not certain I’m able to do that."

 

Twice Wimbledon winner Murray, Britain's first men's champion since Fred Perry in 1936, left the door to an eventual comeback slightly ajar, saying he was mulling another round of major hip surgery.

 

He said he had been in touch with American doubles champion Bob Bryan, who returned to the court at the recent Brisbane International after having the surgery.

 

The twice Olympic champion added, though, that the operation would be more aimed at improving quality of life than prolonging his career.

 

"I have an option to have another operation which is a little bit more kind of severe than what I've had before, having my hip resurfaced which would allow me to have a better quality of life," he said.

 

"That's something I'm seriously considering right now.

 

"Bob Bryan had this operation post-Wimbledon last year and is obviously playing.

 

"But obviously there’s a difference between singles and doubles in terms of the physicality and movement and stuff. Certainly, no guarantees there."

 

Murray said basic things in everyday life, like putting on socks and shoes, were causing him severe pain and he had grown weary of talking about his hip in every conversation.

 

Murray, who visibly struggled in a 6-1 4-1 practice match defeat to top seed Novak Djokovic at Melbourne Park on Thursday, has been drawn to play 22nd seeded Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut in the first round on Monday.

 

"I'm going to play, I can still play to a level, not a level that I'm happy playing at," he said.

 

(Reporting by Ian Ransom; Editing by Nick Mulvenney)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-01-11

[Basil B]

Time to call it a day, done great and retiring due to his health would be no disgrace.

not as if he will starve if he does not work,  and if he does want to work I am sure he would be in demand as a coach, a tv/radio commentator, an ambassador for the sport, and lots more.

[spidermike007]

Andy Murray no doubt has been a great player, and has had some amazing results. Some players can deal with injuries, and some can't. Some can play through the pain, and some can't. 

 

I, for one, will not miss him. He has been a crybaby, a mama's boy and is not much fun to watch, with his antics, temper tantrums, grimacing, outbursts, and tirades. I am sure some Brits won't like this, but I feel the sport would not be losing much. Sports is part sport, and part entertainment. He is not much of an entertainer and is not much fun to watch, in my opinion, as a professional tennis fan, since the late 1970's. He never had the panache of a Yannick Noah, Paradorn Srichapan, Stan Wawrinka, Rod Laver, or Tomas Byrdych,  nor the elegance or grace of a Roger Federer, Bjorn Borg, Steffi Graf, or a Stefan Edburg. He was never entertaining to watch, like a Boris Becker, Nick Kyrgios, John McEnroe, Martina Hingis, Novak Djokovic, or Andre Agassi. 

 

He was simply a great player, who managed to win three majors, and two gold medals, which is a big deal. No doubt about that. But he did not bring much else to the game, in my book. He will be quite comfortable with his $100 million fortune, and he has brought alot of honor to the UK and Scotland. 

[stevenl]

8 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Andy Murray no doubt has been a great player, and has had some amazing results. Some players can deal with injuries, and some can't. Some can play through the pain, and some can't. 

 

I, for one, will not miss him. He has been a crybaby, a mama's boy and is not much fun to watch, with his antics, temper tantrums, grimacing, outbursts, and tirades. I am sure some Brits won't like this, but I feel the sport would not be losing much. Sports is part sport, and part entertainment. He is not much of an entertainer and is not much fun to watch, in my opinion, as a professional tennis fan, since the late 1970's. He never had the panache of a Yannick Noah, Paradorn Srichapan, Stan Wawrinka, Rod Laver, or Tomas Byrdych,  nor the elegance or grace of a Roger Federer, Bjorn Borg, Steffi Graf, or a Stefan Edburg. He was never entertaining to watch, like a Boris Becker, Nick Kyrgios, John McEnroe, Martina Hingis, Novak Djokovic, or Andre Agassi. 

 

He was simply a great player, who managed to win three majors, and two gold medals, which is a big deal. No doubt about that. But he did not bring much else to the game, in my book. He will be quite comfortable with his $100 million fortune, and he has brought alot of honor to the UK and Scotland. 

Agree with you, but will still miss him. If only because with Federer retiring, Nadal past his best (on occasion still excellent), that only leaves Djokovic, and I really don't like him.

[Krankies fan club]

Come back Tiger Tim Henman. Now there was a British tennis player of substance , personality and talent. A born winner , unlike that pesky Scotsman , Murray.

[Ulic]

A talented PC crybaby. The weak link of the big four. Not in the top 100 of players I have enjoyed watching in the past 4 decades. Painful to watch his retirement announcement. Of course millions will miss him, I will not be one of them. 

[colinneil]

12 hours ago, Krankies fan club said:

Come back Tiger Tim Henman. Now there was a British tennis player of substance , personality and talent. A born winner , unlike that pesky Scotsman , Murray.

What a load of rubbish, Henman not a patch on Murray.

[RickBradford]

To set against the criticisms, Murray is heavily involved in charities, at rather more than the normal celeb virtue signalling level, and has helped and supported younger British players with kindness and generosity. His impending retirement caused one young British player, Heather Watson, to be reported as saying:

 

British number two Heather Watson said Murray had a heart of pure gold, adding: "You're most definitely one of the most liked and respected players on the tour. I know all of us girls in the locker room are in awe & so grateful for how you always fight in our corner! Thank you so much for that".

 

I think his visible grumpiness may have been born of a dislike of wasting time on media activities which he found pointless and irritating.