Exclusive: 'No reason' for Andy Murray to retire as former Wimbledon champion 'loves playing', says Laura Robson
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Published 27/06/2023 at 11:59 GMT
Andy Murray has played down retirement rumours ahead of playing Wimbledon this summer - and former British No. 1 Laura Robson thinks Murray is still "right up there" and should continue for as long as he wants. Robson also spoke about Murray's chances at Wimbledon, where he is set to miss out on a seeded spot, and what she "loves" seeing from his game.
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Laura Robson thinks Andy Murray has “no reason to stop anytime soon” and could continue playing tennis for several more years because of his love for the sport.
Murray, 36, has fallen down the rankings in recent years following hip surgery.
But he has showed some signs of returning to form this year, especially on grass where he won 10 matches in a row and lifted titles in Surbiton and Nottingham.
He now has his sights set on a deep run at Wimbledon, and has said he doesn’t expect this to be his last appearance at the Grand Slam.
“It just seems to me like he really enjoys it and loves the competition,” said Eurosport expert Robson.
“He loves playing, and that's enough for some people to keep going. And he's won everything there is to win, almost. And he really is playing just because he wants to be out there.
“I hate this feeling of trying to retire people before they're ready. We've seen it so often with Serena [Williams] and Venus [Williams] and other champions just let them play for as long as they want to.
“He's clearly doing well enough to just be outside of the top 32 seeds without a huge amount of tennis under his belt when you look at how almost little he played over the last year. So really the last few months is the only time that he's been healthy enough to get some consistent tennis in.
“I feel like he's right up there still, so there’s no reason to stop anytime soon.”
Murray looked close to retirement at the 2019 Australian Open when he gave a tearful press conference and spoke about continuing pain with his hip.
However, the former world No. 1 has not yet followed Roger Federer out of the sport and this year says he's in the best shape following his hip surgery.
“I don't think anyone would have thought that when he sort of unofficially retired at the Australian Open a couple of years ago that Andy would still be playing and playing as well as he is,” added Robson.
“So it's such a testament to the hard work that him and his team have put in over the last few years to be healthy enough to withstand best-of-five set tennis again, but also just to play 10 matches in a row like he did over the last few weeks.
“Two years ago, even 18 months ago, I don't think anyone would have thought that would be physically possible for him with the amount of recovery that he needs to do pre and post match. So that, for me, is the main thing. If he's able to stay healthy, then who knows, he might outlast some of the younger ones at this rate.”
Murray saw his grass winning streak come to an end at Queen’s as he was beaten in the first round by Alex de Minaur.
The defeat ends Murray’s chances of a Wimbledon seeded spot, barring several late withdrawals.
But Robson does not think the loss to De Minaur should be a worry for Murray ahead of Wimbledon.
“Not at all. He had the toughest draw at Queen’s in the first round. De Minaur is not an easy player on any day, let alone if you've just played back-to-back weeks and won 10 matches in a row.
“So he was probably physically exhausted going into that one, playing someone who was super fresh. De Minaur plays well on grass anyway, so it was just one of those matchups that if it happens in the first round again here, I think it might be a bit tougher for the Australian.
“I think Andy's playing some amazing tennis. I saw him a lot in Nottingham, and especially in the final couple of matches, he seemed to be getting better and better and he really wasn't pushed there so much.
“I think in terms of draw, you just hope that he's able to win a couple of early rounds. And really, I think he backs himself against most of the players in the draw on this surface.
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Murray's fine form on grass ends abruptly at hands of De Minaur
“I could just select a few that would be very, very difficult to play first up. But at the same time, that's when you want to play the top seeds, because it's when they're sort of at their most vulnerable in a way, when they haven't played a lot of matches on the surface and they're coming into a new Grand Slam. And Andy's played a lot of tennis over the last few weeks.
“I think it's a tricky one. Obviously, he would have wanted to be seeded, but things didn't work out this time. But you have to think by the US Open, he'll be back in the top 32.”
Robson also says she liked the way Murray was keeping the points shorter with his serving and volleying in Nottingham and Surbiton.
“It seemed like he was really comfortable with coming forward and his net game is so underrated for me, so I would love to see him try and do that even more.
“And when he throws in the same volley, it catches people off guard and he does it so well, so more of that would be amazing.”
Wimbledon starts on July 3.
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