Andy Murray admits he ‘didn’t take’ opportunity, not sure if he will be back at Wimbledon

Andy Murray believes that he has missed an opportunity of “having a proper run” at Wimbledon and refused to commit to next year’s competition.

Murray had taken the initiative in the second-round match against Stefanos Tsitsipas as he led by two sets to one on Thursday night when play was suspended because of the 11pm curfew.

The 36-year-old admitted the complexion of the match had changed but was not prepared to make any excuses for his defeat, stressing that both players knew they were playing to a curfew.

He said: “I mean, it does change. It’s different playing indoors and outdoors. It’s not the same conditions.

“You never know what would have happened. The same result could have happened. We knew that we were only going to be able to play until 11:00. You’re kind of playing to a time.

“It was unlikely if there was any split sets or anything that we were going to finish yesterday. We knew the situation going into the match. That’s how it was.”

Murray didn’t feel it was necessary to continue playing on Thursday night despite his favourable position, adding: “It seemed like a reasonable time to stop.”

Does it make it even harder that he came so close to advancing?

“I don’t know, to be honest. I’m obviously very disappointed just now. Yeah, obviously you never know how many opportunities you’re going to get to play here.

“Yeah, the defeats maybe, yeah, feel a bit tougher. But, to be honest, every year that Wimbledon’s not gone how I would like, it’s been hard.”

He added: “Ultimately this was an opportunity for me. I had a good chance of having a proper run for the first time in a long time at a slam. I didn’t take it.”

Asked how confident he was of making a return to Wimbledon, Murray said: “I don’t know. Yeah, motivation is obviously a big thing.

“Yeah, it’s similar to I guess last year. I had a long think about things, spoke to my family, decided to keep on going.

“I don’t plan to stop right now. But, yeah, this one will take a little while to get over. Hopefully find the motivation again to keep training, keep pushing, try and keep getting better.”

While Murray is pleased that he can still give the biggest stars a fright at the age of 36 and after undergoing major hip surgery, he is disappointed not to find consistency at a Grand Slam in recent times.

“Well, I mean, I certainly could have beaten him [Tsitsipas] today or yesterday. I’ve obviously earlier in the year had a great win against [Matteo] Berrettini who was a top player at the time. He’s obviously had his injuries this year.

“Yeah, I certainly can. It’s clear based on how the match went. I mean, there’s only a few points in it today.

“Like, it’s not just about winning the odd match against them really. To have a run at these tournaments, you need multiple, multiple wins in a row. Yeah, I’ve obviously not done that, yeah…”

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