Andy Murray: Jannik Sinner’s coach Darren Cahill thinks there is ‘still a lot left’ for former world No. 1

Jannik Sinner’s coach Darren Cahill has said “no one has the right to tell Andy Murray when to hang it up” and believes the former world No. 1 still has “a lot left” in the tank.

Murray hasn’t won on the ATP Tour since October and has lost all three matches he has played this year.

After his latest defeat to Benoit Paire, Murray, 36, responded to an article which questioned whether he was damaging his legacy by playing on.

Cahill has backed Murray to continue for “as long as he wants”, especially after seeing him play “out of his mind” in practice against Sinner before he won the Australian Open.

“He practised with Sinner about a week before the Australian Open, they were supposed to play three sets, Andy won the first two and I think Jannik was up a break in the third set, he was playing out of his mind, he was playing so well and Jannik [himself] was playing good tennis.

“I then saw him at Kooyong and he played pretty well, but he was [also] grinding away on the practice court and I walked passed him and said ‘you just love this sport, don’t you’ and he said ‘yeah, I love it so much’.”

Whenever Murray does decide to retire he will do so with a glittering CV that includes three Grand Slam titles, two Olympic gold medals, and time spent as world No. 1.

All that in arguably the strongest-ever era of men’s tennis alongside Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.

“He can play for as long as he wants, there is no damaging his brand,” added Cahill, who has also coached Lleyton Hewitt, Andre Agassi and Simona Halep.

“What he has been able to achieve in his career has been remarkable, considering the opposition he has had.

“He came in the era of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic. To win majors in that era has been really, really tough and Andy was able to do it three times, he won a couple of Wimbledons, he won an Olympic gold medal, and he became the No. 1 player in the world – 99.99% of the public or tennis playing people would take that career in a heartbeat.

“I know he is putting the work in, his body just needs to hold up. He is not playing with a great deal of confidence at the moment, which is surprising because he was playing really well before the Australian Open, but he has got plenty of time.

“Novak is the same age as him and he is the No. 1 player in the world. So, if he can get it right and his body is holding up, there is still a lot left for Andy, if he wants it.”