This Tuesday, early afternoon, the London crowd, packed into the stands at Wimbledon, will find out if their idol Andy Murray will tread the grass of the Old England Club in singles for the last time against the Czech Tomas Machac. At the time of writing, uncertainty still hangs over the participation of the Scot who underwent an operation (spinal cyst) a week ago. But beyond this suspense, the triple Grand Slam winner has announced his retirement plan for the coming months, explaining that Wimbledon and the Olympics should (should have) been his last major goals.
Whether he plays or not this Tuesday, Andy Murray will leave a huge void on the tennis planet. Didn’t we use to say that the Glasgow native was part of the “Big Four” just a few years ago, alongside Roger Federer, Raphael Nadal and Novak Djokovic? A reference that is far from being usurped when you can display 46 ATP singles titles to his name, including two Wimbledons and a US Open, a Masters, two Olympic gold medals and fourteen Masters 1000s. And if Andy Murray has to resign himself to withdrawing from the singles, he sees a special opportunity to play doubles with his brother Jamie, a first for them at Wimbledon. And it is perhaps according to this scenario that history should be written. A moving story for the world of tennis. His impact on the sport, both through his victories and his fighting spirit, will leave a lasting legacy. His fans, like the players on the circuit, hope that he can end his career in style, on the courts that he loved so much.
Under the guidance of Yvan Lendl from 2012 and then with Amélie Mauresmo during his return in 2014, Andy Murray has aroused the admiration of tennis legends by winning his greatest successes. And as he likes to say, he will only play this week if he can play a real match where he feels competitive, to conclude in style an immense career where modesty and humility are combined daily on the courts or in his private life for this father of four children who once declared: “I know how to cry like Roger Federer, it’s a shame that I don’t know how to play like him!”
