Murray Has Retirement Date In Mind Despite Saying He Didn't A Few Games Ago

Advertorial: After staging quite the injury comeback following his earlier intensive hip surgery, Great Britain's Andy Murray more than knows that his days on the professional circuit are coming to an end.

His playing return probably went better than most fans had expected it to and he more than defied the odds for a period, winning another title and reaching three other finals - the last being last year where he lost to Daniil Medvedev in Doha and Tennis betting sites would probably have had low odds of that happening.

However, despite that success there have also been low periods and very frustrating early exists in tournaments, and his most recent spell has included a six match losing streak, which came to an end in last week's Doha clash with Alexandre Muller.

The 36 year old has now secured his second win of the calendar year after beating Denis Shapovalov 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 out in Dubai, but speaking after the match, he admitted that he may only have a 'few months' left in his tank for both fitness and form reasons.

"I probably don't have too long left but I'll do as best as I can these last few months. I still love competing and still love the game but it gets harder and harder to compete the older you get, to keep your body fit and fresh.

" The fitness of the three time Grand Slam and Wimbledon winner has long been in question in the media since his initial surgery, and a potential retirement has never been far from the headlines in the several years that have passed since 2019. With Murray himself now openly and actively addressing the issue, there will certainly be fans of his who feel both disappointed, but equally amazed that he has been able to extend his career for this long given the injury problems that have plagued him throughout his career.

Whether not we learn what has changed in his thinking right now, is open to debate, as after his opening four defeats of 2024, he acknowledged that he was in a 'terrible moment' but he was adamant that he 'won't quit' despite the continued and growing speculation about his future.

Now acknowledging that his time in the game and on the professional touring courts are likely almost at an end is a big acknowledgement from him. Having beaten world number 75 Muller in Doha, he went on to lose the next match to 18 year old, 116th ranked, Jakub Mensik and many believed that during the game he had mouthed to his box 'this game is not for me any more'.

Far from denying the comment when asked if they were accurate in his press conference in Dubai, Murray simply stated that people always read into on court comments from players, not least himself, but that even if the words are said, the meaning applied to them by others is 'not always rational'.

In short it is an emotional reaction that is in the moment and has no significance beyond that. Whilst his comment makes perfect sense when you consider the frustrations of elite sportspeople and what they demand from themselves, the incident will undoubtedly continue to feature highly in the thought of those who mull over and question what has now changed to allow him to feel comfortable making this statement.

If he does now bow out of the game in the next few months, fans will also look at another significant driver in his decision to make the statement. His victory over 120th ranked Shapovalov was a gruelling match long two hours and 33 minutes, but, it importantly marked his 500th career win on the hard court and means that he now joins the esteemed company of Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Andre Agassi as being the only players to ever reach that milestone.

It could simply very much be, that having made his return and picked up another title, along with three further final appearances, his last in game target was to reach that 500 marker.

"Obviously hard courts have been a great surface for me over the years and 500 is a lot of matches. So yeah, I'm very proud of that. It's great to get that before I'm done."

That theory is backed up by the fact that he is now, in a later interview, on record as saying that he is 'bored' of the retirement 'question' and he will not discuss it further until 'the time comes for me to stop'.

Adding, '...but I don't plan on playing much past this summer'.

Which nicely brings us to the Wimbledon Championships, and the Paris Olympics and potentially the French Open.

We will simply have to see what his view of the summer is when it comes to the calendar.