Andy Murray admits he doesn’t know how much longer he can continue playing but has vowed to keep on going after crashing out of Wimbledon on Wednesday.
The two-time champion put up a valiant fight before falling 6-4, 7-6(4), 6-7(3), 6-4, to John Isner in what was a match of very fine margins. Murray dropped serve only twice in the 198-minute encounter and won more than 80% of his first service points. But it was still not enough to derail his American rival who holds the record for the longest tennis match in history and the longest to be ever played on Center Court. Regularly serving above 130 mph, Isner produced a staggering 36 aces to go alongside his 82 winners.
It is the first time the 35-year-old has ever lost to Isner after getting the better of him on eight previous occasions. He could easily blame the outcome on the service performance of his opponent but Murray refuses to let that be an excuse.
“I’ve played many times against those players (with a fast serve) and found ways to get enough balls back, make enough returns to turn the matches, whether that’s been against Karlovic, Isner, Raonic, those sorts of guys. I’ve done well against them.” Murray said during his press conference.
“Tonight he (Isner) served well and was very close to the lines in important moments. When he does that, it doesn’t always matter what you’re trying to do.”
Murray’s defeat brings to an end a run of never losing before the second round in his 13 previous Wimbledon appearances. He has won a total of 60 matches which places him sixth on the Open Era all-time list for most wins.
It is the latest disappointment for the Brit who recently reached his first Tour final since January but only to suffer an abdominal issue whilst playing in it. This resulted in him being unable to serve for a total of 10 days, far from ideal preparation for the grass-court major.
“It’s frustrating because I was in a good place with my game. The injury didn’t help. The positive is that physically I was fine during the matches (at Wimbledon). I just couldn’t quite get the win today.” He commented.
This year’s Wimbledon is the seventh Grand Slam Murray has featured in since 2019. Out of those, only once has he been able to claim back-to-back wins, which was 12 months ago at SW19 when he lost to Denis Shapovalov. Now in his mid-thirties life on the Tour will only get harder as it does for everybody else.
Yet, Murray is like he is on the court – resilient and willing to fight until the end.
“This year my game was certainly in a better place (than 2021). Physically I felt good, barring the sort of 10 days post-Stuttgart.” Murray states.
“I could have had a good run (at Wimbledon). One of the reasons why improving your ranking and trying to get seeded is important, avoid playing top players and dangerous guys like that early in tournaments.’
“Who knows what would have happened. Yeah, it’s frustrating for different reasons.”
One of the factors motivating Murray for the future is his desire to be seeded at a Grand Slam once again. Something that hasn’t happened since 2017. As for the longer term, he admits that is still up in the air and so is the likelihood of him playing Wimbledon again next year.
“It’s extremely difficult with the problems I’ve had with my body in the last few years to make long-term predictions about how I’m going to be even in a few weeks’ time, never mind in a year’s time,” Murray explains.
“If physically I’m in a good place, yeah, I will continue to play. But it’s not easy to keep my body in optimal condition to compete at the highest level.”
Whatever happens in the future, Murray knows he has the support and admiration of his peers. Something which Isner echoed during his press conference.
“To be able to win on Center against Andy Murray is something I’ll certainly remember forever. This is why I still play, it’s why I still work hard. So I’m still eager to get up in the morning and work out and get my body feeling right, to have moments like that.” He said.
Murray is currently ranked 52nd in the world.
