Andy Murray has left the tennis world questioning if the three-time grand slam could be calling it quits soon after announcing he will skip the entire clay court season to prepare for a push at Wimbledon.
Murray, who won Wimbledon in 2013 and 2016, said he didn’t want to take any chances during the clay court swing even though it will mean he will be off the main ATP Tour for more than two months ahead of SW19.
The Scot was knocked out of the Australian Open in the second round against World No.111 Taro Daniel in another tough loss to accept for the former finalist.
Since his two hip surgeries, which has taken a toll on his career, Murray has remained adamant he could return to the top and compete for grand slams.
However, the 33-year-old is clearly prioritising a wildcard entry for Wimbledon in what remains to be seen if it will be the last grand slam in London of his career.
“Right now I am not planning on playing through the clay,” Murray said at the Rotterdam Open.
“The past couple of years, the clay has made issues worse, last year I had some issues at the beginning of the year, the clay didn’t help, so I’ve spoken to my team about that and this year while I feel good and healthy, I don’t want to take that risk.
“It’s not that I wouldn’t potentially play on clay in the future, last year I almost missed Wimbledon, was close to not playing the grass season, I’m not planning on playing the clay, I will still try to compete a bit during that period, I won’t do nothing, that’s my plan just now.
“I had a busy end of last year and hopefully the next couple of months, I won’t take any risks and hopefully get a good build up to the grass season.”
