A teary-eyed Andy Murray all but confirmed that the upcoming Australian Open might be his last on the tennis court because of a recurring hip injury.
Murray has been playing tennis since he was 10-years old and is a very entertaining presence in front of the media. But a recurring hip injury has been bothering the 31-year-old for the last 20 months and after barely surviving a practice session against Novak Djokovic on January 10, the former world number 1 seemed to his fate.
"Not great," said a teary-eyed Murray to the press in Melbourne when asked about his fitness.
The start to Andy Murray's press conference was very emotional ? pic.twitter.com/hObwoj71uo
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 11, 2019
The scot then excused himself and left the interview room. When he returned, the dual Wimbledon champion and US Open winner said, "So I'm not feeling great."
"Been struggling for a long time, I've been in a lot of pain for probably about 20 months.
"I've pretty much done everything I could get my hip feeling better."
"I'm in a better place than I was six months ago but I'm still in a lot of pain. It's been tough."
Murray had told his team during the off-season that he would carry on till Wimbledon but it seems the end, sadly, will come much sooner.
"In the middle to the end of December in my training block, I spoke to my team, and I told them, 'I cannot keep doing this.' I needed to have an end point because I was playing with no idea when the pain was going to stop. I felt like making that decision. I said to my team, 'Look, I think I can get through this until Wimbledon. That's where I would like to stop playing.' But I am not certain I am able to do that."
Meanwhile, the tennis fraternity sent out their love to the modern-day great.
.@andy_murray You are a champion on and off the court. So sorry you cannot retire on your own terms, but remember to look to the future. Your greatest impact on the world may be yet to come. Your voice for equality will inspire future generations. Much love to you & your family. https://t.co/AQUOP3LGec
— Billie Jean King (@BillieJeanKing) January 11, 2019
Keep fighting, @andy_murray.
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 11, 2019
The entire tennis family is behind you ? pic.twitter.com/sVAX2WgXNB
Keep fighting, @andy_murray.
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 11, 2019
The entire tennis family is behind you ? pic.twitter.com/sVAX2WgXNB
Andy, just watched your conference. Please don’t stop trying. Keep fighting. I can imagine your pain and sadness. I hope you can overcome this. You deserve to retire on your own terms, whenever that happens. We love you @andy_murray and we want to see you happy and doing well. ?
— Juan M. del Potro (@delpotrojuan) January 11, 2019
My heart breaks listening to @andy_murray during his press conference... Hope he will make it through to Wimbledon and have the farewell he deserves . #greatguy
— Kim Clijsters (@Clijsterskim) January 11, 2019