Andy Murray: Briton suggests he may only have few months left of career

Andy Murray from Great Britain shared that he potentially has merely a "limited period" left of his tennis profession following his achievement of attaining his second victory of 2024 in the Dubai competition.

In a thrilling match, the 36-year-old emerged victorious over Canadian opponent Denis Shapovalov with a score of 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3.

He stated that he may not have much time remaining, but he will strive to do his best during the upcoming months, following his triumph.

Until last week, Murray had lost six matches consecutively. However, in Doha, he finally managed to secure his first victory of the year.

He expressed his enduring love for competing and playing the game. Yet, he acknowledged that it becomes increasingly challenging to compete as one gets older. Keeping one's body in shape and energized becomes more difficult over time.

The likelihood of Murray, who has won three Grand Slam titles, retiring has been a subject of conversation for a number of years since he had an operation to replace his hip in 2019.

Despite facing unfavorable circumstances, Murray made an impressive comeback to the tennis court, not only winning one title but also making it to three additional finals. The most recent final was last year's match in Doha, where he unfortunately lost to Daniil Medvedev.

In the current year, Murray experienced a defeat in his first four matches of the 2024 season. This put him in a bad state, but he declared his intention to persist and not quit. Yet, there is speculation about when he will choose to retire.

He appeared to be struggling at the Australian Open, and he suffered two losses during the ATP Tour in France, but he stated that he was committed to displaying his expertise once again.

Murray had an impressive win over Alexandre Muller, who was ranked 75th in the world, during his recent match in Doha. Unfortunately, he lost in the second round to Jakub Mensik, an 18-year-old ranked 116th. Regrettably, Murray's defeat caused him to fall in the rankings to 67th place.

In that game, Murray seemed to say to the people in his box that he is no longer interested in playing. However, when asked about his words in Dubai on Monday, he explained that people often interpret his statements on the court in different ways, and not all are logical.

Murray, who had previously won the Dubai Tennis Championships, had to fight back against Shapovalov who is ranked 120th in the world. Their game was intense and extended to two hours and 33 minutes.

He achieved his 500th triumph on hard surfaces, placing him alongside a select group of tennis players including Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Andre Agassi.

It's clear that I have performed exceptionally well on hard courts throughout my career and winning 500 matches on this surface is a remarkable achievement. I feel a great sense of pride in this accomplishment. I'm glad to have achieved this milestone before my time in the sport ends.

Shapovalov, who in the past was ranked as the 10th best player in the world, fell out of the top 100 for a while due to an injury that kept him away from the game for six months. Nevertheless, he began his match against Murray with a lot of energy, successfully obtaining a second opportunity to break serve and finishing the first set by serving well. Murray, on the other hand, displayed his frustration by throwing his racket forcefully to the ground.

During the second set, both players managed to break their opponent's serve, but unfortunately, no one was able to establish a solid lead. Eventually, Murray emerged victorious after winning the tie-break, resulting in a tied score.

After winning the Wimbledon championship twice, he managed to break Shapovalov's serve in the beginning of the final set. He successfully maintained his composure and secured the victory by using his first match point, as Shapovalov's return landed into the net.