“Andy Murray retiring from tennis isn’t sad news at all,” Roy Keane provides alternative analysis to the Brit legend farewell

Legendary Manchester United figure Roy Keane analyzed Andy Murray's retirement from a different perspective following the emotional farewell at Wimbledon last Thursday, where he participated in the doubles draw alongside his brother Jamie Murray.

The former world No. 1 will conclude his career in the coming weeks after several years battling injuries, yet continuing to showcase why he is one of the best players of the century. Former footballer Roy Keane transitioned into tennis commentary on the Stick to Football podcast to discuss the retirement of the British sports legend:

“Andy Murray retiring from tennis isn’t sad news at all,” said Keane. “He’s 37 years old, had a brilliant career but had plenty of injuries, so he should count his blessings that he’s had such a successful career.”

“He must have been crying… although it’s okay to cry. That’s not sad news (Murray returning). It’s good news. He’s got a lovely family. Good luck to him. He had a brilliant career. They talk about him playing in a great era… we were up against the great Barcelona. Oh my God. He could have been with Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe!”

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Keane’s panel mate and former Arsenal and English national team striker Ian Wright also praised Murray for his extraordinary career: “Andy Murray is one of our sporting greats for what he had to go through,” said Wright. “For him to make it in tennis, in our country, and in the same era as Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, you’ve got to give him major credit. He had a brilliant career and he’s one of our all-time greats.”

“I don’t need to be a tennis fan to understand and appreciate how good someone is. With the injuries he’s had, it’s great to see how successful he’s been, especially to make it through in such a strong era of tennis.”

Andy Murray at 2024 Wimbledon.

From Olympic Gold to coaching dreams

Murray described his Olympic gold medal in 2012 as “one of my favourite days I’ve ever had,” and said sarcastically of his rivalry with Djokovic, Nadal and Federer: “They were all right weren’t they?”

Murray reminisced about his success at the 2013 Wimbledon, where he won his second Grand Slam and first as a local, and the grand celebration he had in 2016 when he repeated the title: “I did find it pretty stressful, it wasn’t easy.” He made sure he celebrated fully in 2016, admitting that he vomited in a taxi on the way home.

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The former world No. 1 also acknowledged that he would like to return to the Tour in the future, especially to Wimbledon “in a coaching box,” rather than the royal box, sparking applause from the crowd during the farewell. Additionally, Murray had words for his wife and their four children. His two eldest daughters Sophia (8 years) and Edie (6 years) were in the court's box: “They’ve been waking me and my wife up at 5am for the last eight years so they’ll continue doing that.”

“They were requesting piggybacks the day after my back surgery. Obviously they’ve been amazing, I really look forward to spending more time at home,” he added. “I’ve had some amazing people working with me over the years. The last few years have been hard for me but I think hard for them.

Andy Murray won his third Grand Slam title at 2016 Wimbledon.

“It has obviously been hard for all of us. The injuries have been tough, quite significant injuries and we’ve worked extremely hard just to be on the court competing. Probably not at the level any of us wanted, but we tried,” the former world No. 1 explained.

“Look it is hard because I would love to keep playing but I can’t. Physically it is too tough now, all of the injuries, they have added up and they haven’t been insignificant,” Andy Murray claimed. “I want to play forever, I love the sport and it’s given me so much. It’s taught me loads of lessons over the years I can use for the rest of my life. I don’t want to stop so it is hard.”

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