Andy Murray: Is the end nigh for three-time Grand Slam winner after latest loss?
When does the pride of a champion and the refusal to back down from a challenge do more harm than good? When does it become clear that the massive investment of time, energy and effort is not paying any kind of dividend at all?
These, and many other questions, will once again ring around the echo chamber in Andy Murray’s mind as he tries to plot a path towards one last hurrah at Wimbledon this summer. While the rest of us ask ourselves: ‘Is it really all worth it any more?’
One thing is clear, as a former world number one and triple Grand Slam winner, Murray has earned the right to call time on his career whenever he likes. He had hinted this would be his last full year on tour, leading one to wonder whether he might want to finally bow out at Wimbledon in 2025, 20 years after his first match on the hallowed turf.
The poor showing at the recent Australian Open, where he exited without so much as winning a set, prompted the five-time Melbourne finalist to suggest he may well not venture down under again.
The meek nature of the loss to Tomas Martin Etcheverry was offset somewhat by the fact the Argentine was 12 years younger and seeded. No disgrace to suffer defeat by a player on the rise through the rankings. Similarly, losing in the first round in Brisbane a couple of weeks earlier was countered by Murray being the only player to take a set from eventual champion Grigor Dimitrov.
The latest loss, from a set up to journeyman Benoit Paire, is far, far harder to rationalise. The Frenchman had not won a match on the main tour for a year and a half and has long since departed the world top 100. He lost the first set 6-2 and still found enough to get past an ailing Murray. There may well have been a physical issue for the Scot but the damage he may be doing to his mind gives cause for greater concern. He says he wants to keep playing while he’s enjoying it. Surely the fun stopped many months ago.
