A proud Andy Murray stated he “gave everything” as his 4:05am end caught up with him in a sometimes defiant third-round loss on the Australian Open on Saturday.
The 35-year-old bowed out to Twenty fourth-seeded Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut 6-1, 6-7 (7/9), 6-3, 6-4, however was given an enormous ovation by an appreciative Melbourne Park crowd.
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Britain’s Murray was clearly feeling the results of his epic five-setter in spherical two, which began on Thursday however ended within the early hours of Friday.
Now ranked 66th and sporting a steel hip, the previous world primary stated he took “great memories” from the primary Grand Slam of the yr.
The three-time main champion admitted having “mixed emotions”, saying: “I gave everything that I had the last three matches – I’m very proud of that.
“But I’m also disappointed because I put loads of work into the beginning of this year and was playing well enough to have a really good run, have a deep run.”
Murray didn’t look to make excuses, however stated that after two five-setters to get to spherical three and his early-morning end in opposition to Australia’s Thanasi Kokkinakis “my feet didn’t feel great”.
The epic five-setter in spherical two had lasted a gruelling 5 hours and 45 minutes – the longest match of Murray’s storied profession.
The British star detailed the ugly fallout after the epic contest and revealed simply how ugly his accidents had been.
“I mean, I slept from 6 until 9 the morning I played the match with Kokkinakis, which obviously isn’t enough (smiling). Then I had to come in here,” Murray stated.
“I had about seven or eight blisters that I had to have drained and then he put this liquid in to dry it. I had to come in in the morning to give that time to settle.
“Then I went back to the hotel, slept for a few hours, and then hit for, like, 15 minutes yesterday. Yeah, just the ice baths, saw my physio.
“Yeah, actually, I mean, my feet didn’t feel great. My legs were actually okay. They weren’t too bad. But I was struggling with my lower back. That was affecting my serve. That was really the main thing that I was struggling with today.”
Murray was on the point of retirement 4 years in the past earlier than present process career-saving surgical procedure and at Melbourne Park he rapidly turned the fan favorite.
He revealed he was informed by a physician his profession was finished and he’d by no means play on the skilled stage once more. In a weird flip of occasions, Murray ran into the identical physician solely days in the past.
From the sounds of issues, strolling away from the game is much from the entrance of his thoughts after his epic Australian Open run.
“You never know exactly when the end is going to be. I would like to go out playing tennis like this, where I’m competing with the best players in the world in the biggest events and doing myself justice,” he stated.
“I felt good about the way that I was playing. It’s more enjoyable for me when I’m playing like that, when I’m coming into a major event and really believing that I can do some damage.
“But, yeah, I can have a deeper run than the third round of a slam, there’s no question about that. Obviously draws can open up for you. I need to also help myself with that. If I was playing at this level last year, I probably wouldn’t be ranked 50, 60 in the world. It’s up to me to try and change that.”
Murray will now take time to let his physique recuperate earlier than returning to the court docket in Rotterdam in February.
“Next tournament I’m entered in is Rotterdam. Planning on playing Rotterdam and Dubai,” Murray stated.
“I mean, how long it takes to recover? I mean, I don’t really know. I don’t have an injury, which is good. Yeah, my body obviously has had a lot of load and stress go through it these last few days. Yeah, I’ll need to take a bit of time to recover.
“But because of the Davis Cup week, Rotterdam would start three weeks on Monday, so yeah, that should be more than enough time for me to recover, I would think.”
– with AFP
