"I've never experienced a period like this as a professional": Andy Murray admits struggles but won't stop playing despite retirement questions

ATP
Saturday, 17 February 2024 at 21:30
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Andy Murray rules out retirement despite a tough start in 2024. The former world No. 1 acknowledged that he is not going through a good period, and at 36, rumors of a possible retirement have circulated. However, the British player hopes to "turn it around" in the coming months.
The 3-times Grand Slam champion has already participated in four tournaments in 2024, losing in the first round of all four. Murray commented on his challenging moment on the Tour: "Tennis-wise it hasn't been a great start to the year. I've never experienced a period like this as a professional. It's been difficult, a new experience for me (which) is not the nicest, but good to experience new things and try and learn from them,"
The British tennis player (No. 50) was eliminated by Tomas Machac (No. 62), marking his fourth consecutive defeat. Despite acknowledging that he is far from shining, he still believes he can turn things around.
"When I do get myself out of it and start to feel better, hopefully I'll be stronger for it, but it's been hard. I've not been playing well and winning as many matches as I would like, so I'm hoping I can turn it around here."
Andy Murray was asked whether the challenging moment is due to physical issues or more mental, and he responded, "It's probably a combination of the two. Physically I'm not expecting to feel how I did when I was 20, so it's hard when you get to your mid to late 30s to stay at the level required to beat the best players."
“I've never really experienced playing really well in practice and not being able to translate it to a match court before, it was always the opposite for me," said the former world No 1.
"I was never a great practice player, I didn't use to win practice matches, exhibition matches, it's been the complete opposite for me recently. I know there's better tennis in me than I'm showing just now, but I'm hoping I can turn it around," Andy Murray concluded.

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