John McEnroe has outlined Andy Murray’s potential schedule for the rest of the season after the Brit suffered a disappointing defeat at the US Open. The 36-year-old has made it no secret that he wants to have another deep run at a Grand Slam but he crashed out in the second round to Grigor Dimitrov. It sparked more chatter about when Murray would retire as he admitted things could change if his ranking started regressing.
Andy Murray issues retirement threat as Brit concedes Grand Slam defeat
Murray’s time at the US Open was short-lived this year, as he found himself eliminated on the first Thursday of the tournament. The world No 37 won just eight games as 19th seed Dimitrov dispatched him in two hours and 46 minutes. After the match, a downbeat Murray said he had to accept that the deep runs at big tournaments “might not be there” anymore.
The former world No 1 was also uncertain on his schedule after leaving New York as he cast doubts over whether he deserved a spot in Britain’s team at the upcoming Davis Cup. But he said he planned to play “a lot” in Asia, despite failing to make the cut for Beijing.
McEnroe has now given his thoughts on what Murray will do for the rest of the season, claiming that his tournaments could be limited. “I doubt we’ll see him play a whole lot more this year, maybe a couple of events in Europe.” the seven-time Major winner told Eurosport.
“I think he’s going to really evaluate where he’s at right now, 30-40 in the world, it’s a lot better than it was but that’s not where Andy Murray should be. He’s an unbelievable player, a first ballot Hall of Famer. In certain ways, it’s got to be extremely difficult. But in other ways, he’s made it farther than a lot of people thought.”
Murray recently reached his highest ranking since undergoing hip resurfacing surgery in 2019, at No 36 in the world. But he is set to fall a few places after his early exit in Flushing Meadows. And McEnroe seemed to agree with the Brit’s assumption that he may not have another deep run at a Grand Slam.
The American added: “He knows his body a lot better than I do obviously. It’s tougher as you get older, I can tell you from my own experiences, to bounce back to that level seven times. That’s the problem.
“Can Murray on a given day beat anyone? I think he could. But to do it over the course of a couple of weeks where things happen? That’s the part where I think as you get older, it’s much tougher.”
Murray himself addressed his future after losing to Dimitrov, as the one-sided match sparked the usual fears over when he would decide to hand up his racket. “ I still enjoy everything that goes into, you know, playing at a high level. I enjoy the work. You know, the training and trying to improve and trying to get better, I do still enjoy that,” he explained.
“Yeah, and that’s what keeps me going. If things change and I stop enjoying that or my results, my ranking and everything, like, if I start to go backwards in that respect, you know, in a few months’ time I was ranked 60 in the world or whatever instead of moving up the way, things might change.”
