Andy Murray: The three-time Grand Slam victor pulls out of the match against Jordan Thompson due to injury
Andy Murray, the three-time Grand Slam winner, had a severe injury at Queen’s that forced him to retire from the game in the middle of his match against Australian Jordan Thompson. Murray is participating in what is likely to be his final season on the ATP Tour.
Two weeks prior to what is anticipated to be his last Wimbledon event, Andy Murray was forced to withdraw from his Queen’s match against Jordan Thompson in the second round due to a concerning injury.After defeating Australia’s Alexei Popyrin in three sets during his first-round match, the former world number one fell down 4-1 against Thompson and had to end his career.
Even before the main event on Wednesday started, the 37-year-old’s mobility was clearly off. In his opening service game, he was broken to 15 due to an unintentional mistake, but Thompson went on to take a two-game lead.
Though Thompson was quite comfortable against his hobbled opponent, Murray did manage to score in the third game, but he brought the trainer out to evaluate his back and decided to press on.
Following back-to-back double faults that gave Thompson a double break and a 4-1 lead, Murray was forced to end the match—probably his final one at one of his favorite events.
The three-time major champion has won a record five singles titles at Queen’s, and his retirement has naturally sparked fears that he might not be able to participate in this year’s Wimbledon Championships.
Thompson admits ‘sadness’ over Murray retirement
Murray has already admitted that he does not anticipate playing much beyond SW19 or this year’s Olympics, and opponent Thompson paid tribute to his stricken opponent after their short-lived battle.
In his post-match interview, the Australian stated, “I learnt a lot watching him play, so it’s an honor to share the court with him, but it’s just terrible that it ended like way.”
“I just have to get him to move,” I reasoned. That’s the perk of being much younger than him, I suppose, as I see him play. In any other sport, I doubt the opposition would give up easily if someone was wounded. Nothing personal; I’m just attempting to do the task at hand.”
Next Friday is the draw for Wimbledon, which is where Murray won in both 2013 and 2016. The competition runs from July 1 to July 14 and there are a total of 14 wild cards available for for the championships were confirmed earlier on Wednesday.
