Andy Murray fans baffled as Australian Open prematurely 'force' him to retire

[Zardoz7/12]

Article (Mirror is crap but hey ho)

Pre-tournament there had been much talk about this possibly being Murray's final match as he continues to try and battle back from a variety of injury problems, but the 31-year-old has yet to confirm that he will call it a day.
"If it was my last match, it was an amazing way to end. I literally gave everything I had. It wasn't enough tonight, so congratulations to Roberto and his team.
"Maybe I'll see you again. I'll do everything possibly to try. If I want to go again, I'll need to have a big operation where there are no guarantees I will be able to come back from. I will give it my best shot."
So given that he didn't confirm he was retiring, it was strange that a tribute video featuring several stars of the game was then played on the court's big screen, with the word 'retirement' mentioned often.

Anyone else get this awkward feeling after the match with that interview with "Petchey"?

 

[ollinger]

So given that he didn't confirm he was retiring, it was strange that a tribute video featuring several stars of the game was then played on the court's big screen, with the word 'retirement' mentioned often.

farewells always include the Grand Tour now, and this is the start of it

 

[tennisaddict]

Agree with OP. Andy seems unsure if this is the finish line and looks like will give it a go after surgery if he is able to even the slightest

Imagine how silly this farewell is going to look like

 

[icedevil0289]

I will laugh if he pulls a Hewitt or something after all this.

I mean good for him if he does manage to continue playing longer than anticipated.

 

[ark_28]

I think if he had even a slightest belief he wanted to try and continue then he should have expressed that.

He came out in an emotional press conference announced his retirement! Being a former champion that was always going to lead to lots of tributes

To then say I may comeback after announcing the retirement and taking the plaudits from many around the world seems very disingenuous to me.

 

[FiReFTW]

He looked so much slower than he was years ago, almost twice as slow.

 

[Sport]

Article (Mirror is crap but hey ho)

Pre-tournament there had been much talk about this possibly being Murray's final match as he continues to try and battle back from a variety of injury problems, but the 31-year-old has yet to confirm that he will call it a day.
"If it was my last match, it was an amazing way to end. I literally gave everything I had. It wasn't enough tonight, so congratulations to Roberto and his team.
"Maybe I'll see you again. I'll do everything possibly to try. If I want to go again, I'll need to have a big operation where there are no guarantees I will be able to come back from. I will give it my best shot."
So given that he didn't confirm he was retiring, it was strange that a tribute video featuring several stars of the game was then played on the court's big screen, with the word 'retirement' mentioned often.

Anyone else get this awkward feeling after the match with that interview with "Petchey"?

Lol, gave you a like for the epic picture of MuryALIEN.

 

[ibbi]

It was very awkward. Tough to say if it was just him talking a little crazy in a hyper emotional moment, or if he actually means it. Want to see his press conference, I'd imagine that could be very interesting...

He spoke the other day about any further work he could have done being simply to improve his quality of life rather than prolonging his tennis career, so who knows if anything has changed since then.

 

[Sport]

Agree with OP. Andy seems unsure if this is the finish line and looks like will give it a go after surgery if he is able to even the slightest

Imagine how silly this farewell is going to look like

Murray said he was retiring at Wimbledon 2019 in his latest press conference. It's not AO fault.

 

[Deleted member 763691]

Murray did quite well today vs a very good player, so considering Murray prefers Wimbledon he'd probably make the Wimbledon quarter-final with this level of tennis
then again, he may not recover well after each match, but his tennis level is good enough to reach QF if he could repeat it in each match.

 

[ChrisRF]

To then say I may comeback after announcing the retirement and taking the plaudits from many around the world seems very disingenuous to me.

But imagine how many great sportspeople came back after „retirements“. In some way it seems to be the rule rather than the exception for early retirements.

Just think of Michael Jordan (twice!), Michael Schumacher, Michael Phelps etc.

Comebacks are always possible. I wouldn’t be suprised one bit if Usain Bolt and perhaps Phelps again are back for Tokyo 2020.

So if Murray somehow manages to overcome his health problems, why shouldn’t he be back as well? And for the sympathies he gains now: He just deserves it, even if his career is “only” almost and not totally over. The injuries prevent him from being a top player, regardless if he’ll still be in some draws or not.

 

[RaulRamirez]

Murray did quite well today vs a very good player, so considering Murray prefers Wimbledon he'd probably make the Wimbledon quarter-final with this level of tennis
then again, he may not recover well after each match, but his tennis level is good enough to reach QF if he could repeat it in each match.

I'd like to see it, but not sure. He played well, and RBA played better, but the level didn't scream Wimbledon QFist to me. The intensity and drama surely was that or higher, though.

 

[Deleted member 763691]

i think the knighthood may hurt Andy, because he feels like he's already achieved enough, whereas without the knighthood he'd be less of a legend (but still a legend)

 

[Deleted member 688153]

This Murray retirement thing is weird. I still think he will this year, but he will play Wimbledon.
To be fair to him he had a bad draw here too.

 

[icedevil0289]

i think the knighthood may hurt Andy, because he feels like he's already achieved enough, whereas without the knighthood he'd be less of a legend (but still a legend)

you make no sense

 

[ark_28]

But imagine how many great sportspeople came back after „retirements“. In some way it seems to be the rule rather than the exception for early retirements.

Just think of Michael Jordan (twice!), Michael Schumacher, Michael Phelps etc.

Comebacks are always possible. I wouldn’t be suprised one bit if Usain Bolt and perhaps Phelps again are back for Tokyo 2020.

So if Murray somehow manages to overcome his health problems, why shouldn’t he be back as well? And for the sympathies he gains now: He just deserves it, even if his career is “only” almost and not totally over. The injuries prevent him from being a top player, regardless if he’ll still be in some draws or not.

Absolutely agree with you in terms of comeback and I don’t think there is anything wrong with Murray wanting to keep trying at all. What I do think is disingenuous is giving an emotional retirement press conference to accept the worlds media fawning at your likely retirement only to make them look like idiots and hint you want to keep playing.

 

[EloQuent]

He gave a press conference saying that he is retiring at Wimbledon at the latest. What else is AO to go on?

 

[Deleted member 763691]

you make no sense

well if i was given the most prestigious award/title in the world (like a knighthood), i'd probably feel less motivated after that because there would be nothing as big to aim for

 

[tennis_pro]

Murray did quite well today vs a very good player, so considering Murray prefers Wimbledon he'd probably make the Wimbledon quarter-final with this level of tennis
then again, he may not recover well after each match, but his tennis level is good enough to reach QF if he could repeat it in each match.

He did insanely well to push RBA to 5 sets. Prime Murray would've had some issues against this guy let alone the Murray of today.

 

[George Turner]

But imagine how many great sportspeople came back after „retirements“. In some way it seems to be the rule rather than the exception for early retirements.

Just think of Michael Jordan (twice!), Michael Schumacher, Michael Phelps etc.

Comebacks are always possible. I wouldn’t be suprised one bit if Usain Bolt and perhaps Phelps again are back for Tokyo 2020.

So if Murray somehow manages to overcome his health problems, why shouldn’t he be back as well? And for the sympathies he gains now: He just deserves it, even if his career is “only” almost and not totally over. The injuries prevent him from being a top player, regardless if he’ll still be in some draws or not.

Those arent good comparisons, none of them 'Retired' cos of injury.

A better comparison is Muhammad Ali. A great who didn't know when to quit and "un retired" after his body was finished.

Murray has only ever known tennis as a living and is in a situation where he doesnt know what to do without it.

 

[RaulRamirez]

He did insanely well to push RBA to 5 sets. Prime Murray would've had some issues against this guy let alone the Murray of today.

If you were handicapping the AO right now, would you consider RBA one of the 5 or 10 players with the best chance of winning it? He did play quite well, and obviously, he's coming off a victory over Novak (and Berdych in the final) at Doha.

 

[tennis_pro]

If you were handicapping the AO right now, would you consider RBA one of the 5 or 10 players with the best chance of winning it? He did play quite well, and obviously, he's coming off a victory over Novak (and Berdych in the final) at Doha.

I think he has a decent chance against anyone except the big 3.

Ironically the only player in the draw I'm pretty confident he'd lose to is old man Fed. He just loses in the locker room agains this guy. If he caught Djokovic/Nadal on a bad day and plays his best he's not without chances.

 

[icedevil0289]

Absolutely agree with you in terms of comeback and I don’t think there is anything wrong with Murray wanting to keep trying at all. What I do think is disingenuous is giving an emotional retirement press conference to accept the worlds media fawning at your likely retirement only to make them look like idiots and hint you want to keep playing.

I don't think andy did it on purpose, but yeah I think everyone jumped the gun. It does seem like this year most likely will be his last year, but he also could have just been overwhelmed by the crowd support and wanted to say that he might be back.

 

[wangs78]

I’m sure Andy’s been going through a lot of emotions - would cut him some slack. It’s the people who made that video who jumped the gun. There’s no need to offer that tribute the moment he walks off the court. If anyth

 

[RaulRamirez]

I think he has a decent chance against anyone except the big 3.

Ironically the only player in the draw I'm pretty confident he'd lose to is old man Fed. He just loses in the locker room agains this guy. If he caught Djokovic/Nadal on a bad day and plays his best he's not without chances.

The old man, from the little I saw, looked very sharp today. I was watching Andy from about 5 am (my time), which ran concurrent w/ Fed and got almost all of ESPN2's coverage.
When I watch RBA - and from studying his resume - his game would appear to travel well on all surfaces. I guess he doesn't have an overpowering weapon (though his forehand looked dynamic today) but no acute weaknesses, either. I'm surprised that he has yet to make a major QF. This could be the year??

 

[ark_28]

I’m sure Andy’s been going through a lot of emotions - would cut him some slack. It’s the people who made that video who jumped the gun. There’s no need to offer that tribute the moment he walks off the court. If anyth

It’s the done thing when people are retiring. If Murray didn’t want that attention or thought there was even a tiny % chance he wanted to try and play on then he should never have announced his retirement and suggested that this could well be his last tournament

 

[Badabing888]

This is why players should only announce their retirement after they have finished playing like Sampras; Steffi etc. This is beginning to be like Andy playing with his fans and media pre USO 17 and then Wimbledon last year - will he or won’t he play only to pull out at the last minute. I know he doesn’t mean to but he’s just not going to get back to the level he wants to even after a hip resurfacing op from what I read from leading hip surgeons including John O’Donnell who operated on him last year.

Just finish your last tournament whatever that may be and then say you are definitely done. Otherwise it’s a long goodbye and not knowing what match is his last.

 

[Deon Sanders]

Sure seems as though Muggy was getting out ahead of this event making everyone feel bad for him

So injured he pulls out an over 4 hour match against a top 25 player

Yeah right buddy

 

[BeatlesFan]

Those arent good comparisons, none of them 'Retired' cos of injury.

A better comparison is Muhammad Ali.

Ali didn’t retire because of injury either.

 

[tacou]

So, if you watch the presser, Andy actually expresses the desire to keep playing if the surgery he is considering both alleviates his pain and allows him to return to top form. But he realizes the likelihood of it doing either is unlikely, particularly the latter.

It’s weird. The press conference was not so much a retirement announcement, but rather Andy publicly stating he’s just about out of options.

 

[Poisoned Slice]

Norman Whiteside might be a better comparison.

 

[ChrisRF]

Those arent good comparisons, none of them 'Retired' cos of injury.

A better comparison is Muhammad Ali. A great who didn't know when to quit and "un retired" after his body was finished.

Murray has only ever known tennis as a living and is in a situation where he doesnt know what to do without it.

I think Murray didn't meant that perhaps he would keep playing despite the injury, but rather if he somehow overcomes it. And you are completely right about Ali. As much as I like him, he should have stayed away from the ring after the Spinks rematch the latest.

 

[TennisaGoGo]

Those arent good comparisons, none of them 'Retired' cos of injury.

A better comparison is Muhammad Ali. A great who didn't know when to quit and "un retired" after his body was finished.

Murray has only ever known tennis as a living and is in a situation where he doesnt know what to do without it.

That's a little dramatic. Murray isn't going to get brain damage if he continues to play. Worst case scenario is he walks like Andre Agassi. It's running around a court hitting a tennis ball, 80 year men do it. He should have kept his mouth shut and played, instead of fishing for sympathy. Or he should have pulled a Sandy Koufax and just walked away.