Andy Murray during his final match at Roland Garros in Paris on August 1, 2024. ANDY WONG / AP
Retirement has often been discussed in recent days at Roland-Garros. Much of it is that of Rafael Nadal, who has not yet announced anything, after his eliminations, in singles and doubles, from the Olympic tournament. Much less of it is that of Andy Murray, also present in Paris. However, he has not made much of a secret of his intentions, quite the contrary.
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Perhaps this lack of media attention can be explained by the fact that the 37-year-old Scot has not won fourteen titles on the ochre clay of the Porte d’Auteuil. Perhaps, also, because the player has been contemplating his tennis retirement for five years. We have lost count of the press conferences where he has suggested that it was coming soon, that the time had come to put away his rackets, well not right away, but soon, unless, who knows…
In January 2019, at the Australian Open, with red eyes and a sore right hip, the time to bow seemed to have already come. “The pain is really too strong, he confided in front of the cameras, his cap pulled down to hide his tears. Playing like that is not something I want to continue doing.”
But two weeks later, another hip operation. Since then, with his cobalt prosthesis, he has collected extra sessions, albeit a notch below. Pelvic problems, a creaking back: despite the pain, Murray continued. He had only just said, at the beginning of the year, that he would stop in the summer.
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Some British journalists thought the conclusion would come in mid-July, at Wimbledon? An operation to remove a cyst on his spine prevented Murray from appearing in the singles. With his brother Jamie, he could not make it through a round in the doubles. Not exactly the farewell he had dreamed of.
Go for the Games. At the end of July, a great pen of the Guardian summarized, with humor british : “Murray has been retiring in slow motion for half a decade, on a farewell tour that has more stops than the Eras Tour”these numerous concerts of the singer Taylor Swift, organized all over the world.
Standing ovation for the newly retired
But this time, it really was the last. After the Olympics, it would be over, he had promised, so he might as well make the pleasure last. Until Thursday, August 1st, with Daniel Evans, he had managed to delay the deadline. Two first matches won with a scenario oscillating between miracle and resurrection.
First, five match points saved against a Japanese pair. Then two more in the next round, against Belgians. The British press was asking for more: in recent days, more than twenty journalists were present at Porte d’Auteuil, waiting for the slightest appearance of the future retiree. On Thursday evening, as night fell on the Suzanne-Lenglen court, Andy Murray and his compatriot were outclassed by the Americans Tommy Paul and Taylor Fritz (6-2, 6-4).
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2024-08-01 23:47:04
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