26 June 2023 , 21:02
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Andy Murray has opened up about his retirement plans, admitting he has "an idea about when it is I would like to stop" while also insisting it is "certainly nothing immediate".
Murray was speaking following a first-round exit at Queen's last week, with his 6-3 6-1 loss to Alex de Minaur ending his hopes of being seeded for Wimbledon. However, the two-time Wimbledon champion will still compete at this year's event and is hopeful it will not be his last appearance.
Of his three greatest rivals, Roger Federer retired from the sport last year while Rafael Nadal has announced that he is set to retire in 2024. However, Murray has insisted he has no plans to follow suit any time soon and said he wants to "finish my career on the tennis court" after missing almost a year of action with a hip problem in 2017 and 2018.
"That's an experience I went through where I didn't know if I was going to be able to play again," Murray told the PA News Agency. "So I certainly don't want to put myself in that position – I want to finish my career on the tennis court.
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"It's something I have an idea about when it is I would like to stop and a plan for that – certainly nothing immediate." In a separate interview with Sky Sports, Murray added that he believes he can compete with the best for at least "a couple more years".
Asked if this year's Wimbledon would be his last, he replied: "I hope not, but you never know. It's why athletes need to make the most of it while they're still able to because if I was to have another big injury or if something happened to the metal hip that would be me finished.
Andy Murray has opened up about his retirement plans (Getty Images)"I wouldn't try to come back from another operation or major surgery again so I want to keep playing a bit longer. I know it's not going to be going on forever but I have an idea of when I would like to finish and it's not this year's Wimbledon.
"There's no right or wrong way of finishing your career and it's always a really difficult one for athletes. Lots of people would have said the best way for Roger Federer to finish would have been at Wimbledon but I thought the way that he finished his career on the doubles court with Rafa surrounded by some of the greats of the game was brilliant.
"The way Rafa wants to go about it is up to him and Serena [Williams] finished at the US Open after a great run. There's never one way of doing it. It's whatever's right for the individual."