By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Tuesday February 27, 2024
36-year-old Andy Murray hasn’t had the simplest time of it in 2024, and his struggles have been mirrored in his rating, with the three-time Slam champion dropping out of the High 50 and all the best way right down to No.67 on this week’s ATP rankings.
Although he’s useless set on ending profession on his personal phrases, Murray did appear to trace on Monday in Dubai that he could also be nearing the top of the road.
In latest months Murray has beat again the haters and insisted that he’s going to retire when he’s good and prepared. He even went public and took offense to an article written within the BBC that claimed he was tarnishing his legacy by persevering with to play.
Murray dropped his first 4 matches of the season and entered Dubai with a 1-5 report. However after incomes his five hundredth profession arduous court docket win on Monday in Dubai (in three units over Denis Shapovalov), the Scot appeared to trace that he has a time and date for retirement in thoughts – or at the very least it sounded that method.
“Individuals learn quite a bit into what I say on the court docket typically and it’s not at all times rational,” Murray stated after his win, referring to requires his retirement. “However folks ask me about it on a regular basis anyway. I clearly nonetheless love competing and love the sport, but it surely’s more durable and more durable the older you get to compete with the younger guys and maintain your physique match and recent. It’s not straightforward.”
Murray, who will flip 37 on Might 15, may not be planning to play past the 2024 season, in any case.
“I most likely don’t have lengthy left however I’ll do one of the best I can these previous few months,” he concluded.
He’ll face France’s Ugo Humbert in second-round motion on Wednesday in Doha.
