While Jannik Sinner and Tommy Paul raise their arms, winners in Halle and Queen’s, respectively, Andy Murray is already resting on the bed, convalescing, and world tennis deeply regrets: the great British hero of the last two decades will not be able to say goodbye to Wimbledon when On the horizon you can already see his goodbye, those final meters that represent the closing of 19 years of career in the elite, with so much challenge and so many battles on the track. Guerrilla like few others, the Scotsman. The causant? A spinal cyst that has forced him to undergo surgery and that also puts his participation in the Paris Olympic Games at serious risk, where he was presumably going to hang up his racket. Maybe it’s not possible.
The beautiful goodbye that Murray, winner of the London Grand Prix in 2013 and 2016, dreamed of, continues to be clouded by this week’s painful scene at Queen’s – where he had to abandon due to pain and the sudden loss of strength in his right leg – Now this forced resignation to compete for the last time at the All England Club is added. “I had no coordination, I couldn’t move. When going up the stairs he lost control. I don’t know exactly what the problem is. I just know that this is not something I have not experienced before,” he described on Wednesday, after being treated by doctors and having to withdraw in the second round of Queen’s, where he holds the record for titles (5) ahead of John McEnroe (4). He could not say goodbye to the tournament properly nor will he be able to say goodbye to Wimbledon, where he triumphed in 2013 and 2016.
Murray’s problems with his back are not new; In fact, he has been dragging them for a decade. However, he had never been taken to the operating room, as his hip was. After a double intervention for osteoarthritis and a first threat of retirement, in 2019, the one from Dunblane has continued competing and fighting among the best hundred in the world. ranking, but very far from that version that allowed him to stand up and entangle the three giants. At the beginning of this year he already hinted that this summer would surely put an end to his career, but this latest injury makes the final stretch sour. According to the newspaper The Telegraphthe recovery time could be six weeks, so he would arrive comfortably at the Paris Olympics.
From the United Kingdom there is speculation that he may participate in the doubles category with his brother, Jamie, or that he may finally retire at the US Open in New York, where he won his first major (2012) after a final. memorable against Novak Djokovic. However, everything remains up in the air. The Scot’s punished body definitely demands a truce, since this season he already had to remain in the reserve for a couple of months as a result of rupturing several ligaments in his left ankle, in Miami, March. Since then, his activity reflects three first rounds (Geneva, Roland Garros and Stuttgart) and his time in the challenger from Bordeaux.
Expansive Sinner
Winner of 46 trophies and with 1,001 matches under his belt, on Tuesday he was able to beat the Australian Alexander Popyrin in three sets, but the next day, the cyst in his back affected the nerve and he barely had stability. After playing five games against Jordan Thompson, he quit. “It’s very disappointing for Andy that this was potentially his last Queen’s, his last Wimbledon and his last Olympic Games, and that there’s a chance that might not happen,” his brother Jamie told the BBC. . “Although they have seemed to be going well, the last few years have been very hard. There have been a lot of days when training and stuff wasn’t too much fun, but I’ve tried to get over it and find a way to be on the track. “Tennis is a very, very hard sport,” he summarized, 129th in the world and double Olympic gold in singles (2012 and 2016).
Murray will not be in the big event on grass, where an expansive Sinner will appear. The 22-year-old Italian celebrated the first title of his career on grass this Sunday (7-6 (8) and 7-6 (2) against Hubert Hurkacz) and ran for the major English, reaffirming himself as the best player of this campaign. He has already won four awards – Australia, Rotterdam and Miami before – and regardless of what happens at Wimbledon, he will retain the number one that he has defended since his time at Roland Garros. He also joins the exclusive club of those who managed to win the first tournament once they reached the throne; He was preceded by Jimmy Connors (1974), Björn Borg (1979), Mats Wilander (1988), Stefan Edberg (1990), Pete Sampras (1993), Novak Djokovic (2011) and Murray himself (2016).
The American Tommy Paul, for his part, beat Lorenzo Musetti in the Queen’s resolution (6-1 and 7-6(8) and his compatriot Jessica Pegula and the Kazakh Yulia Putintseva were crowned in the Berlin and Birmingham events, at beat Coco Gauff (7-5 and 7-6(2) and Ajla Tomljanovic (6-1 and 7-6(8) respectively. The Catalan Paula Badosa beat Arantxa Rus (6-4 and 6-1) at its premiere in Bad Homburg (Germany).
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