Andy Murray held back tears on Friday Jan 11,2019 when he announced that he is retiring from the sport due to unresolved hip pain. Murray, who is in Melbourne for the 2019 Australian Open, had to leave the press conference he was holding for a moment to compose himself before returning to the microphone. “The pain is too much, really,” Murray said of playing after his January 2018 hip surgery.
Murray has two Olympic gold medals and has won three Grand Slam titles: Wimbledon in 2013 and 2016, and the U.S. Open in 2012. As a Brit (Murray is Scottish), the 31-year-old said that he would like to retire after this year’s Wimbledon competition but isn’t sure he can make it. “I spoke to my team and I told them I can’t keep doing this and that I need to have an end point, because I was just playing with no idea when the pain was going to stop,” Murray said. “I said, look, I think I can kind of get through this until Wimbledon. That is where I would like to stop. But I’m also not certain I’m able to do that.” He said that he “can still play to a level, not a level that I’m happy playing at. But it’s not just that. The pain is too much, really. It’s not something I want. I don’t want to continue playing that way. I’ve tried pretty much everything that I could to get it right, and that hasn’t worked.”
Highlights of Andy Murray’s prolific career:
– In 2012, beat Novak Djokovic in US Open final to become the first Brit since 1934 to win a Grand Slam. He beat Novak Djokovic 7-6 (12-10), 7-5, 2-6, 3-6, 6-2.
– Beat Roger Federer 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 to win gold in the London Olympics. Also won silver in mixed doubles with Laura Robson the same year.
– Became first Brit since 1934 to win wimbled in 2013. Beat Novak Djokovic 6–4, 7–5, 6–4 to win the title. He went on to win it again in 2016, beating Canada’s Milos Raonic 6-4, 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-2) in the final.
– Helped Britain win their 10th Davis Cup title in 2015. The last time Britain had won the prestigious tournament was back in 1936
– Became the first Brit, male or female to win the ATP World Tour Finals in 2016 after beating Djokovic 6-3, 6-4.
– Became the first tennis player to retain Olympic gold after beating Argentina’s Juan Martin del Porto 7-5, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 at Rio 2016.
– In 2016, he became the first male British player to attain world number one ranking on the ATP standings since it was started in 1973. Also was the oldest first-timer to top the charts
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