Andy Murray dominated plenty of headlines for his heroic displays at the Australian Open, and after his exit from the third round on Saturday, he took to social media to express how proud he was.
The tennis legend has spent ample time with medical professionals over the last several years dealing with numerous injuries, including having metal inserted into his hip. Murray has shown just how resilient he is and perhaps there has been no greater example of that than his scintillating comeback over Thanasi Kokkinakis to progress to the third round of the Australian Open.
But the 35-year-old was unable to produce more heroics as Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut defeated him in four sets to end his latest campaign Down Under. After playing for more than 14 hours over the course of just three matches at Melbourne Park this week, Murray dismissed any doubters or naysayers who did not believe he would perform at this level again, including a significant one.
He tweeted: “2 days ago I randomly bumped into the doctor who in 2017 told me ‘the good news is the problem you have in your hip can be fixed but you won’t be able to play professional sport again.’ I think we dispelled that myth the last 5 days. Goodnight.”
Following his loss earlier today, Murray revealed the lack of sleep he got after his marathon five-set thriller with Kokkinakis.
At five hours and 45 minutes, Murray played the longest match of his career which did not end until just after 4am local time (5pm GMT), but it came with consequences. The former world number one revealed he had just three hours sleep after pulling the ultimate houdini act inside the Margaret Court Arena, and explained the long recovery process. “I slept from six until nine the morning I played the match with Kokkinakis, which obviously isn’t enough," he said.
“Then I had to come in here to Melbourne Park. I had about seven or eight blisters that I had to have drained, and then he (the podiatrist) put this liquid in to dry it. I had to give that time to settle. Then I went back to the hotel, slept for a few hours, and then hit for fifteen minutes yesterday. Just more ice baths, saw my physio.”
Describing the discomfort he was feeling, the double Olympic champion added: “I mean, my feet didn’t feel great. My legs were actually okay, they weren’t too bad. But I was struggling with my lower back. That was affecting my serve. That was really the main thing that I was struggling with today. You do all you can do. You can’t always control the outcome. You can’t control how well you’re going to play or the result.
“You can control the effort that you put into it, and I gave everything that I had the last three matches. Lots of mixed emotions but I’m very proud of that.” Murray has been relentless in his pursuit of returning to his former level and recently even spoke of his desire to return to the world’s top 20.
Although it ended in disappointment, his latest Australian Open campaign was closer to how he wants to play, and how he wants to compete in what is undoubtedly the twilight of his career.
“I would like to go out playing tennis like this, where I’m competing with the best players in the world in the biggest events and doing myself justice,” Murray said. “There were maybe times the last year or so where I didn’t really feel like I was playing well.
“But the sacrifices and that effort that I put in allowed me to get through these matches and play at a high level that I think was entertaining for the people watching.
“It’s more enjoyable for me when I’m playing like that, when I’m coming into a major event and really believing that I can do some damage. I think even tonight I’m competing against a guy ranked about twenty in the world, and it’s still very tight considering the circumstances.”
