‘I want to finish on my own terms’ – Andy Murray plays down Wimbledon retirement suggestions

Andy Murray has played down suggestions he plans to retire after this year’s Wimbledon but admitted he has ‘an idea’ of when he will call time on his tennis career.

Murray, 36, is gearing up for his 15th appearance at the tournament, where he has won two of his three grand slam titles.

“I hope not, but you never know,” he told Sky Sports. “It’s why athletes need to make the most of it while they’re still able to because if I was to have another big injury or if something happened to the metal hip that would be me finished. I wouldn’t try to come back from another operation or major surgery again so I want to keep playing a bit longer.

“I know it’s not going to be going on forever, but I have an idea of when I would like to finish and it’s not this year’s Wimbledon.”

The tournament begins on Monday July 3 with Murray having picked up two recent grass-court Challenger titles in Surbiton and Nottingham respectively.

Despite a potentially tougher draw awaiting him, Murray, currently 39th in the ATP rankings, is determined to remain on the tour for the foreseeable future.

“I don’t know exactly which tournament it would be or where it will be,” he said. “I just have an idea of how much longer I would like to play for and I don’t want to put myself in a position like before I had the operation. I want to finish on my own terms.

“I want to finish on the court where I feel I can still do myself justice and playing at a really high level. I definitely feel I can do that for a couple more years.”

This year marks a decade since Murray beat Novak Djokovic in straight sets to win his first Wimbledon title, becoming the first British man to do so since 1936.

He won his second title at the venue in 2016 with his status in the game at the time earning him a spot among the ‘big four’ alongside Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

With Federer retiring at the Laver Cup in 2022 and persistent questions over Nadal’s future, as well as Serena Williams’ also calling time on her career last year, Murray is philosophical about the possibility of finally saying goodbye when the time comes.

“There’s no right or wrong way of finishing your career and it’s always a really difficult one for athletes. Lots of people would have said the best way for Roger Federer to finish would have been at Wimbledon but I thought the way that he finished his career on the doubles court with Rafa (Nadal) surrounded by some of the greats of the game was brilliant.

“The way Rafa wants to go about it is up to him and Serena (Williams) finished at the US Open after a great run. There’s never one way of doing it. It’s whatever’s right for the individual.”

He added: “I’ve spoken to a lot of ex-players and some of them who have coached me. I’ve spoke to them about the end of their career and how they knew it was the end of their time. Pretty much everybody said ‘play as long as you can, nothing will replace it. These are the best years of your life so try and make the most of it’.

“I don’t want to leave too soon but I’m also aware after everything that I went through, I don’t want to finish with an injury where I’m not able to play properly either.”

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