Andy Murray suffered his earliest Wimbledon exit in sixteen years on Friday when he was beaten in the 1/3 round by global No 12 Denis Shapovalov and was left asking himself: “Is it really worth it?”
-time champion Murray, who has been locked in a prolonged struggle against hip and groin accidents, and is now ranked 118, went down 6-4, 6-2, 6-2.
It was the first time the 2013 and 2016 champion had lost in the third round since his debut in 2005 as an 18-year-old.
“There’s a part of me that feels like I’ve put in a lot of work in the last three months and ultimately didn’t play as well as I might have needed and expected, and I’m like, is it worth it?” Murray, 34, said.
“Is all of that training and everything you’re doing in the gym worth it unless you’re able to practice and improve your game and get suits and continue to get a run of tournaments?”
Murray got close to quitting the sport in 2019, whilst he questioned if he’d ever go back to the heights of his career. Hip surgical treatment was observed and subsequently, he went again to the courts.
But it has been slow progress for the former world number one, who is playing the singles at Wimbledon for the first time since 2017. Friday was only his eighth day on the 2021 primary tour.
He neglected 11 months of action between 2017 and 2018 and then another seven months after his tearful exit from the 2019 Australian Open.
He defeated fourth-seeded Nikoloz Basilashvili in the first round of Wimbledon this year, but it took him five sets to defeat German qualifier Oscar Otte.
“There are top-notch memories of this occasion and gambling in a few awesome atmospheres,” Murray said.
“However, I finished the course tonight and I’m announcing to my group that I’m simply no longer pleased with how I performed.”
“So, if I and my group can figure out a way to keep me on the court for a consistent period of time while also allowing me to exercise in the way that I need to in order to compete with those men, that’s where the discussions about what I’ll do next will come in.”
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