Dubai [UAE], February 29 (ANI): The former World No.1 Andy Murray has indicated that he would most likely not play beyond this summer with the two-time Olympic gold medallist dreaming of competing at the Paris 2024 Olympics before retiring from tennis.
Murray’s defeat against Ugo Humbert in the Round of 16 of the Dubai Tennis Championships raised speculations about his retirement.
“I’m likely not going to play past this summer. I get asked about it after every single match that I play, every single tournament that I play. I’m bored of the question, to be honest,” Murray said as quoted by Sky Sports.
The 36-year-old also announced that he intends to compete in this year’s French Open, where he finished second to Novak Djokovic eight years earlier.
“I’ve had experiences through my career where I didn’t play the French Open in 2013 and I won Wimbledon. I also played in the French Open and did really well in 2016. I don’t think it makes a huge difference if you get an extra week’s practice or so on the grass. So yeah, I would like to play one more time,” he confirmed.
Murray fuelled speculation about his possible retirement on Monday when, after defeating Denis Shapovalov in Dubai, he said: “I probably don’t have too long left, but I’ll do as best as I can these last few months.”
“When the time is right I will probably say something before I play my last match and my last tournament. Whether I say anything months ahead of the time, I don’t know,” he said.
Murray is also the first tennis player to have won back-to-back singles gold medals at the Olympics, in London (2012) and Rio (2016).
“Hopefully I can get the chance to compete at another one,” he added.
Murray has had a terrible start to 2024, losing his first four matches and dropping to 67th in the rankings. If he fails to qualify for the Olympics directly, he may seek a berth in the draw as a former champion.
The Olympic Games will take place from July 26 to August 11. (ANI)
