"It's going to be sad when he retires": Daniil Medvedev lauds Andy Murray as an inspiration as retirement approaches

Daniil Medvedev says "it's going to be sad" when Andy Murray retires from tennis after the former World No. 1 gave more insight to his retirement plans.

Murray said after exiting the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships that he does not plan to play much beyond this summer, leading to speculation that the Olympics could be his final tournament.

Speaking after reaching the quarter finals in Dubai, Medvedev lauded praise on the three-time Grand Slam winner, telling reporters: "First of all, he's a fun guy, a great guy to be around. That's always a great quality in life. It's going to be sad when he retires. Even I'm definitely not sure that he's going to stop this year."

Medvedev admitted to watching Murray when he was younger, back when the Scot formed part of a 'Fab Four' in tennis alongside Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. "For sure he's an inspiration of mine because I remember when I was just going up the rankings," he added.

"That's the moment when he was winning Slams, playing finals against Roger [Federer], Rafa [Nadal] and Novak [Djokovic]. So the 'Big Four'. Medvedev, the defending champion in Dubai, will face Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the last eight on Thursday afternoon.