Andy Murray ‘getting every last ounce’ out of his career, according to former British No 1

Andy Murray is still striving to get the moment of glory out of his career, according to British No 1 Andrew Castle.

Murray’s hopes of a dream farewell at Wimbledon this summer appeared to be scuppered when he damaged ankle ligaments at Indian Wells in March, a few weeks after he confirmed this would almost certainly be his final year in tennis.

Yet the three-time Grand Slam champion has made a miraculous recovery and has confirmed he will make a return on clay courts in Bordeaux next week.

With the French Open only a fortnight away, the Scot has opted for more clay-court practice and will also play next week in the second-tier tournament in France.

Murray’s last match on clay also came in Bordeaux a year ago, when he was heavily beaten by Stan Wawrinka before deciding not to play at Roland Garros.

This year he has his sights set on a final appearance in the year’s second grand slam, where he will also enter the doubles alongside Davis Cup team-mate Dan Evans.

Murray is hoping to be back on the Parisian clay in the summer for a final tilt at another Olympic medal and Castle has told Tennis365 that the Scot is still eager to improve at the age of 36.

“The Murray story will be fascinating to watch this summer and we can see that he is still trying to get every last ounce out of his career, which is fantastic to see,” Castle told Tennis365.

“If he does call it quits this year, you just have to reflect on the most unbelievable career and hope that we all capitalise on it, which we probably won’t.”

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Murray has stated he doesn’t want his final days in tennis to be a ‘farewell tour’, but there has always been a perception that he would like to have one final hurrah on Wimbledon’s Centre Court, where he won two Grand Slam titles and an Olympic Gold medal in 2012.

Castle suggests Murray deserves a send-off from the British fans, amid rumours that a statue of the first homegrown player to win the Wimbledon Championships in 77 years back in 2013 may be part of the ongoing discussions over a fitting tribute.

“There are bound to be presentations, goodbyes and acknowledgements for Murray at Wimbledon, as there should be,” added Castle.

“The career he has had and the joy he has given British tennis fans has been immense and he deserves whatever send-off they give him.

“He will be acknowledged for the inspirational sportsman he has been. He’s been unbelievable.

“We had Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski flying the British flag for a few years and that was welcome after we had Jeremy Bates and Andrew Castle as our big hopes for a few years!

“Andy just took it to the next level and then the next level again. I didn’t see it coming until I saw him play. He has been a fantastic champion.”

Murray may only play in doubles at the French Open, with a decision on his participation in Roland Garros on hold for now.

He is expected to play a full grass court season and he has titles to defend at Surbiton and Nottingham if he chooses to enter those events again.

He is also planning to play the cinch Championships at The Queen’s Club and will aim for one final run of glory at Wimbledon at the start of July.