Melbourne: Former world number one Andy Murray, who faced a first-round ouster from the ongoing Australian Open, said that if the match was his last one, it was a brilliant way to finish. The comment came shortly after Murray revealed that the 2019 Australian Open could be his last tournament.
“If today was my last match, look, it was a brilliant way to finish. That’s something that I’ll probably take into consideration, as well. It was an amazing atmosphere. I literally gave everything that I had on the court, fought as best as I could, and performed a lot better than what I should have done without the amount I’ve been able to practice and train. I’d be okay with that being my last match,” ATP quoted Murray, as saying.
The British player had lost his opening match of the tournament 4-6, 4-6, 7-6, 7-6, 2-6 against Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain in a grueling contest. Talking about the match, he said that the atmosphere on the court was amazing. “I was emotional at that moment. It was cool. I don’t think I’ve had that before in any matches. I don’t know if when I came to serve at Wimbledon for Wimbledon, I don’t know if that happened. It was brilliant. The atmosphere the whole match was amazing. I loved it. I’m really appreciative that the people gave me that atmosphere to play in. I really enjoyed it,” he said.
Murray has won a total of three Grand Slam title in his career so far along with 14 ATP Masters 1000 crowns. He had ended his 2016 season with a victory in 24 consecutive matches and finished the year as the world number one player. In 2013, when Murray won his maiden Wimbledon singles title, he became the first British man to win the championship in 77 years since Fred Perry in 1936. Meanwhile, defending champion Roger Federer and Spanish tennis ace Rafael Nadal advanced into the second round of the tournament after registering comfortable victories in their respective opening clashes.