Andy Murray has angrily hit back at a suggestion that he is tarnishing his decorated tennis legacy by prolonging his career through a woeful run of form. The 36-year-old is struggling this year, suffering his fourth consecutive opening-round defeat to exit the Open Sud de France on Monday.
Murray competed in Montpellier hoping to shake off the disappointment of his Australian Open first-round loss against Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
The 30th seed, 12 years younger, cruised to a straight sets victory on January 15, two weeks after Murray fell to a first-round defeat to eventual champion Gregor Dimitrov in Brisbane.
The five-time Aus Open finalist had ended 2023 by again crashing out of the Paris Masters at the first hurdle, although he produced a battling display against 13th-seeded Alex de Minaur.
But there wasn’t much to be upbeat about his latest outing on the court, surrendering a set lead to lose 6-2 6-7 3-6 to Benoit Paire, ranked 115th in the world and without a victory on the ATP Tour for almost two years.
Murray’s disastrous run of results has caused a stir, with many questioning whether his determination to return to greatness is ultimately doing more harm than good.
However, the out-of-form Scotsman hasn’t let it all slide. On Tuesday, he hit back at a BBC article on a similar subject with an angry reaction and brief explanation of where his mind currently is.
“Tarnishing my legacy? Do me a favour,” Murray quoted a post on X (formerly Twitter) by BBC writer Kheredine Idessane.
He added: “I’m in a terrible moment right now, I’ll give you that. Most people would quit and give up in my situation right now.
“But I’m not most people and my mind works differently. I won’t quit. I will keep fighting and working to produce the performances I know I’m capable of.”
Murray has previously hinted at 2024 being his final full-time year on tour, but he will not want to go out on his current note.
