Andy Murray has refused to confirm whether he will be at Wimbledon again next year after he crashed out following a nail-biting fifth set with Stefanos Tsitsipas on Friday.
On the eve of the anniversary of his first title at the All England Club, Murray rolled back the years with a performance showcasing all his famous grit, skill and grass-court expertise to lead 6-7, 7-6, 6-4 on Thursday, before the match was halted by Wimbledon’s 11pm curfew.
His wife Kim watched from the stands on Friday alongside his mother Judy Murray, while Tsitsipas’ girlfriend Paula Badosa – who retired from her second-round Wimbledon clash against Marta Kostyuk earlier today – was also spotted in the players’ box.
But to the disappointment of many Brits, he ultimately lost the match 6-7, 7-6, 6-4, 6-7, 5-7, joining Cameron Norrie to become the second Briton of the day to be knocked out of the tournament.
Speaking at a press conference after the match, Murray admitted he ‘doesn’t know’ if he will be back next year, adding the loss will take ‘a while to get over’.
When asked if he would be back at the All England Club next year, he said: ‘I don’t know. Motivation is obviously a big thing.
‘Continuing to have early losses in tournaments like this don’t necessarily help with that. Yeah, it’s similar to I guess last year.
‘I had a long think about things, spoke to my family and decided to keep on going. I don’t plan to stop right now. But, yeah, this one will take a while to get over.’
It is now unclear what lies ahead for Andy Murray, who has not been drawn on the future for his tennis career, and whether he will ever delight fans at Centre Court again.
It was a hugely disappointing way for Murray to mark the 10th anniversary of his career-defining first Wimbledon title, and he is all too aware that his chances for another deep run here are ebbing away.
He missed the French Open to focus on his grass-court preparations and arrived at the All England Club feeling confident and healthy for the first time since winning his second title in 2016.
He was unfortunate to run into a top seed so early, and there were many aspects of his performance that were positive, but he would have fancied his chances against Tsitsipas on grass and this one will sting.
Murray has not reached the fourth round at a Grand Slam since 2017 and underwent hip-resurfacing surgery in 2019.
After the match he said: ‘I’m obviously very disappointed just now. You never know how many opportunities you’re going to get to play here.
‘To be honest, every year that Wimbledon’s not gone how I would like it’s been hard.’
He also lashed out at the umpire after a crucial point in the fourth set would have seen him with two break points over his opponent – but the ball was wrongly called out.
‘I mean, it was right underneath the umpire’s nose. They shouldn’t be missing that, to be honest. If they’re unsure, they should let the player know,’ Murray said.
‘You can obviously argue it’s my mistake. Ultimately the umpire made a poor call that’s right in front of her.’
The players were facing tough conditions on the court as temperatures approached 30C on Friday.
Centre Court was packed to the brim as thousands of Murray fans cheered the British favourite on, urging him to complete the win.
As the match resumed, the players were in a close contest and stormed through to 4-4 in the fourth set.
Andy Murray then put up a determined fight to bring Tsitsipas’ fifth service came to 40 all – but couldn’t convert that into a break.
Painfully, he was 15-30 up before a winning point was called out. He decided not to challenge, but a graphic later showed the shot had been in, which would have given him two break points against his rival.
He rallied to take his own service came confidently, at 40-15. The fourth set went to a tiebreak shortly afterwards.
Unlike the first two tiebreaks, this was a tense affair and Murray let out a rare shout of frustration after missing a key shot.
He had a steep hill to climb to avoid a fifth set after eventually reaching 3-6 down in the tiebreak – and Tsitsipas closed out the set at the first opportunity.
Murray succeeded in effectively resetting, however, taking the first game of the final set 40-0.
But at his next game he faced a 0-40 climb, and lost the third break point to hand Tsitsipas a 2-1 lead.
Several games later, the crowd rallied the two-time Wimbledon winner to another hold, and Murray prepared to once again face the powerful serve of his opponent at 5-6 down.
DailyMail
