The last Grand Slam tournament in his living room in Wimbledon, then the Olympic Games in Paris – that was Andy Murray’s plan at the end of his great, but rocky career in recent years.
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But as so often in the recent past, life has another U-turn in store for Sir Andy. In the dramatic three-set defeat against Tomas Machac at the Miami Open, he went down in the final phase in pain and was holding his left ankle.
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As is typical of the Scottish fighter, the injury did not stop him from playing. He ultimately lost out in the tiebreak. This feat of will seemed all the more impressive when Murray subsequently announced the diagnosis: complete tear of the anterior ankle ligament and almost complete tear of the calcaneal ligament.
Murray hinted at the end of his career
Murray spoke of a “longer” failure, which was “of course a hard blow”. But he added almost defiantly: “I will come back with one hip and no ankle straps when the time is right.” As soon as he is back in Great Britain, he will see a specialist and then decide how to proceed.
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Once again question marks, once again speculation about the future of the two-time Wimbledon winner. Will he be fit in time? Will he even recover from this health setback? And if in doubt, will he extend his career again?
After his round of 16 exit at the ATP tournament in Dubai at the end of February, he actually indicated that it was “probable that he would not play beyond the summer”. As is often the case, it was a vague statement, but this time many really expected Murray to put his plan into action – with London and Paris as the crowning glory. The French Open as a dress rehearsal for the Olympics is now likely to fall through.
Murray undergoes two hip surgeries
But the fans of the Scot, who carried away with his self-sacrificing game and often made up for what the other members of the Big 4 – Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic – were ahead of him – have been used to Andy Murray’s roller coaster since 2016 at the latest.
The now 36-year-old ended the year in which he won Wimbledon and the Olympics for the second time and beat Djokovic at the ATP Finals in first place in the world rankings. The following year – his favorite tournament had already ended in the quarter-finals – the hip problems that would concern him for the rest of his life became noticeable.
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First place was gone and Murray ended the season prematurely in the fall. Things didn’t get any better in 2018 either. At the beginning of the year he underwent hip surgery and was planning a comeback for the grass season. However, he did not feel fit enough to take part in Wimbledon. And the hopes that everything would get better in 2019 were quickly dashed.
Murray plays in pain
At a tearful press conference, Murray announced the (temporary) end of his career after Wimbledon at the latest. “I’m not sure if I can play in pain for another four or five months. I want to make it to Wimbledon and then quit, but I’m not sure I’ll do that,” he said on the sidelines of the Australian Open.
He can play with restrictions, but: “These restrictions and the pain prevent me from having fun competing and training.”
At the end of January 2019, he announced that he had had a metal hip joint inserted, which could enable him to continue his career. “Hopefully this will finally resolve my pain. I had mentally ended my career long ago, but the new hip completely changed the whole situation.”
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And the coming months actually gave Murray new courage: alongside Feliciano López, he won the doubles title in Queens and stated that his hip was no longer causing problems. At Wimbledon he also competed in doubles and mixed doubles with Serena Williams. But the body went on strike again in November and Murray didn’t play at all for large parts of 2020.
Murray is tormented
“I spoke to many ex-players who said: ‘When your career is over, nothing will replace it. So enjoy it while you can, play while you can,’” he said in a Eurosport interview at the end of the largely unsuccessful 2021 season about the reasons why he beats himself and his body so much.
“I know that a lot of players quit and kind of regretted it because they could have continued.” That’s why he doesn’t want to leave “any stone unturned.” “I am proud of the fact that despite having a metal hip I can still compete with the best players in the world. I think there are very few people who would be able to do that.”
And despite all the lows, there were always the highs, which is why Murray is adamant that all the effort is worth it: finals in Sydney and Stuttgart in 2022, spectacular matches at the Australian Open and Wimbledon and the final in Doha in 2023 – on good days Murray’s class flashed again and again.
So now the next break. Ideally, it could only last six weeks, according to English media reports. Otherwise, Murray may have to admit that his ordeal is no longer worth it.
2024-03-27 14:34:14
#Tennis #giant #Murray #playing #health
