It's been a rough year and a half for Andy Murray. He's barely played over the last 18 months because of a hip injury. We all kept hoping that by taking the appropriate amount of time off, he'd get back to his old form and the Big Four would all be battling out at the top again.
Well, unfortunately, that's not going to happen. When Murray returned, he was a shell of his former self. The pain clearly hadn't gone away. And it still hasn't. Which is why he made the announcement today that he's retiring after Wimbledon. If he can make it that far. Murray's not even sure his body will make it past the Australian Open.
Murray's preference is obviously to go out at Wimbledon. And it should be. I'd even argue that he shouldn't play at all between now and then. Because it'll be a shame if the greatest British player of the Open Era (if not ever) doesn't get a chance to say goodbye on the grounds of the All-England Club. Which is why, after the Australian Open, I don't think he should play again before Wimbledon. As a former champ and, more importantly, as a Brit, he'll get a wild card. And that way his final match will be where it should be. On Centre Court.
Because Andy Murray's career was defined by those grass courts where most of his greatest moments took place. He was the great British hope to finally win at home after all those years. In 2012, he finally got to the final, only to fall victim to Roger Federer's greatness. But it just so happened that the Olympics were in London that year and the tennis tournament, of course, was being held at Wimbledon. And, just a few weeks after that loss, Andy Murray won the gold medal for Great Britain on Centre Court (with Will & Kate sitting in the Royal Box). He followed that up by winning the US Open.
Then in 2013, the drought finally ended. He became the first British man to win the Wimbledon title since 1936. Three years later, he did it again. Before defending his Olympic gold medal a few weeks later in Rio, making him the first player to do that (he's also got a mixed doubles silver from London). Oh, and Murray also went 11-0 in Davis Cup in 2015, as Great Britain won its first title in nearly 80 years.
Who knows how many more Grand Slam titles he'd won if not for Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. Murray lost three Grand Slam finals to Federer and five to Djokovic, who he's also beaten twice. But he also achieved what many thought was impossible. He broke through and turned the Big Three into a Big Four. He was even ranked No. 1 for 41 weeks in 2016-17.
But if you asked me which of the four would be the first to retire, Murray would've been my fourth choice. In fact, he was the one I figured would keep playing the longest. Roger's the oldest, Nadal's style of play is so brutal on the body that he won't be able to handle it physically too much longer, and Djokovic has had his own injury issues that now seem to be resolved. Murray, meanwhile, was the one guy you always expected to see there, even if he wasn't necessarily at his best.
Unfortunately, his hip had other ideas. And I give Murray credit for deciding that his health comes first. He doesn't want to play in pain, and he doesn't want to keep having surgery after surgery just so he can maybe come back and play again. Especially since there's no guarantee he'd ever get back to that top level. Murray has indicated that he will have another surgery. Because he wants to be pain-free in his everyday life. And if that's his reason for stepping away, you have to respect that.
He seems completely at peace with the decision, too. Nobody knows what's going on in the heads of professional athletes when they're faced with the finality of the career that has defined them for so long. But tennis players, by and large, tend to be different. When they step away, they're away. Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi knew it was time, and Andy Roddick has never thought twice about it. I think it'll be the same with the British Andy.
Of course, retired tennis players are never truly away from the game. Many go on to second careers as coaches or broadcasters (or both), and I have no doubt it'll be the same for Andy Murray. He'd probably be successful as either. And it seems highly likely that he'll end up becoming the British Davis Cup captain at some point in the near future.
Which isn't to say the thought of men's tennis without Andy Murray won't require some getting used to. The British fans won't have one of their own to go crazy for at Wimbledon. The Big Four will be down a member. The Djokovic-Federer-Nadal triumvirate won't have to deal with the counter-puncher who held his own against all three of them.
When he beat James Duckworth on New Year's Day in the first round of the Brisbane International, a clearly emotional Murray made it pretty obvious he was close to the end. A great moment to start 2019 after a miserable 2018. Hopefully that's not the last great moment of his career. Hopefully he's still got one or two left in him.
Hopefully he makes it to Wimbledon. Because Andy Murray deserves to go out with an adoring Centre Court showering him with cheers after his final match. But if he doesn't, that adoration will come in Australia, where he's made the final five times. Wherever those final cheers come, he'll deserve every one of them.
Andy Murray was one of the best players of his generation. He gave his all to the sport. He gave so much, in fact, that he doesn't have anything left to give. His body won't let him do it anymore. So he's hanging it up. On his own terms.
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