Andy Murray admits there is a ‘definite possibility’ that was his last Australian Open match
Andy Murray has suffered a first round straight sets defeat to Tomas Martin Etcheverry, with the Brit admitting that he may never return to the tournament again.
Murray was beaten, 4-6 2-6 2-6, by the Argentine and appeared very emotional when waving goodbye to the crowd on the Kia Arena.
In his press conference after the match, Murray was very honest when asked about the future of his career, “Yeah, there’s a definite possibility that will be the last time I play here.”
He continued, “Whilst you’re playing the match you’re obviously trying to control your emotions, focus on the points and everything and then when you’re one point away from the end it’s like, ‘I can’t believe it’s over like so quickly and like this.’
“Walking off the court [I was] like ‘I wish I involved the crowd more’, and just disappointed with the way that I played and all that stuff. A tough, tough way to finish. It was a poor performance and very, very flat.”
Murray is a five-time finalist in Melbourne and continued to speak about his disappointment, with practice sessions not translating to the matchcourt.
“If I play like today, I won’t win many matches playing that way,” claimed Murray. “Practice is not the same thing, I’m totally aware of that. I also know what good tennis is, and played well before.
“In the last week, 10 days, I know how well I was playing against the best players in the world. That’s why it’s so frustrating on the matchcourt. It’s not there.”
The former No.1 concluded, “I’ve been telling myself that at some stage it will, but obviously when you have performances like today or a batch of results over a period of time like I have done, it’s tough to keep believing in that.”
With you every step of the way, Andy ?@andy_murray #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/Qp9MHZE7Nu
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) January 15, 2024
Murray is currently entered into two French indoor hard court events following the Australian Open, in Montpellier and Marseille, respectively.
Inside the baseline…
With this defeat, it’s not necessarily the fact that Andy Murray has lost to a very capable 30th seed in Tomas Martin Etcheverry, it’s more the subdude and uncharacteristic manor that he was beaten. With Murray currently 36-years-old it does seem that his form this year will be a big decider on whether he decides to continue playing, as the Brit appears to be getting more and more impatient. This is heightened at the Grand Slam tournaments, having not surpassed the third round of any since hip surgery.
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