Andy Murray to make retirement U-turn? – ‘I don’t think he will stop’
Andy Murray will backtrack on his decision to retire from tennis this year with his great rival Stan Wawrinka saying the former world No 1 will “keep going”.
After months of speculation about his playing future, Murray got fed up during his post-match conference at the Dubai Tennis Championships in February as he revealed he would quit later this year although he didn’t give an exact date.
Following his defeat to Ugo Humbert, the 36-year-old snapped and told reporters: “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.
“I’m not going to talk more about that between now and whenever the time comes for me to stop. But, yes, I don’t plan on playing much past this summer.”
Wawrinka believes Murray got caught up in the emotion when he made the announcement.
“It’s normal that we receive these questions. About him, I’m not sure that he’s going to stop this summer. I don’t think so but let’s see how it goes,” the former world No 3 told Express Sport.
He added: “I don’t think he will stop. I think when he announced stopping it’s a lot because of the emotion after losing a match but I’m not sure he will stop this summer.
“I think because he’s passionate about the game and I think of course he’s in a mixed feeling; when he’s winning or losing it’s not easy with the emotion. But I think as long as he’s passionate and feels competitive, he will keep going.”
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Like Murray, Wawrinka is also a three-time Grand Slam winner who is in the final few years of his career.
But whereas Murray often gets asked about his future, the Swiss hasn’t quite had the same scrutiny.
“I’ve been on tour for 20 years and of course when I get to 39 years old and I’m 80 in the world, for sure people will ask me the question and I have no problem with that,” Wawrinka said.
“It’s just the way I want to answer it and the way I want to prove that I still want to be there. At the end of the day, I decide what I’m going to do with my tennis career.”
The 16-time ATP Tour singles title winner added: “[It’s about] the way you’re feeling, the way you want to put the work and the practice into it, try to keep the feeling I had when I was young. It’s about the mentality I have.
“I play for myself, I play for the fans and I know I’m getting closer to the end but I keep mentally feeling young, I keep fresh with it by enjoying what I’m doing.”
