Andy Murray delivered perhaps the most shocking news in Tennis world lately. During a press conference prior to the Australian Open, the city of Melbourne and the entire world witnessed the most painful announcement he has ever made. According to ESPN, the 31-year-old is set to quit tennis due to ongoing hard-to-endure pain.
He further emphasized that he would love to wrap up his tennis career with a final appearance at Wimbledon, although the current state of pain may prevent him from reaching that goal.
The news dropped unexpectedly as prior to this moment many were hoping that 2019 would be his comeback year to the top of men's tennis.
The hip injury is still affecting his life
Andy Murray announced his plan to retire from professional tennis in what was an emotional press conference. With a gutted voice for the most part of the conference, Murray cleared out a number of aspects of his life. The one thing that came out without a shadow of a doubt is that that hip injury completely transformed his way of life.
Even though he underwent surgery to fix the problem, the issue is still persistent and bothering him on a daily basis.
He also said that he could still play but not at a level he would be pleased with. Moreover, he also considers a second hip surgery in order to improve his day-to-day life.
The full press conference is available in the link below.
Wimbledon would make a perfect ending point
Andy Murray's illustrious career is about to end. One of his wishes on the matter is to wrap the whole thing up with another appearance in Wimbledon's main draw.
Given the current state of his hip, Andy Murray doesn't know for sure if he will be able to compete over the next four to five months. Given his two-time former Wimbledon champion status, he may still be eligible for a wild card.
But the summer is still way ahead. According to atpworldtour.com, the Brit fears that the 2019 Australian Open could be his very last appearance as a professional tennis player.
He was handed a tough test for the opening round as the recently crowned Doha champion Roberto Bautista-Agut is set to challenge him.
The Big Four will officially be over
All of us knew that this moment would come eventually, but only a few saw Andy Murray being the first member of this select group to step off the tennis stage. Aged 31, Andy Murray is the youngest member of the group.
Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer definitely transformed men's tennis in what was an atypical era in the history of the game. The last decade or so had these four guys completely shattering the opposition.
Now that Andy Murray's retirement from tennis becomes a real fact, the mystic circle may have just been broken.
Two years ago, Andy Murray was preparing to start a new season while at the top of the rankings for the very first time. At the time, many people thought that his moment of glory had just begun. As it turned out, the universe had a completely different plan for the Brit.