LONDON (UK) – Andy Murray feels like he’s playing for his career every time he steps onto the court after recently losing to lowly ranked opponents, however, the player, who has been struck by a few injuries, says he plans to face the challenge with all his might.
The three-time Grand Slam winner had to miss out on this year’s Australian Open after testing positive with the novel coronavirus. Following the incident, he instead headed to Italy last month to put up a stronger front in a challenger tournament in Biella.
Murray was on the verge, which indicated a much earlier exit on Monday in the ATP event in Rotterdam but managed to get back in form from 0-3 down in the deciding set to beat 193rd ranked Robin Haase 2-6 7-6(2) 6-3 in the match.
It marked his first Tour-level win since August. He is currently ranked 123rd after seeing a dip in his rankings due to two hip operations.
Murray told reporters, “It’s not easy. Every time I lose a match, I’m getting told to retire, that I should stop playing, that I’m finished, I’ve got nothing left and whatever and it’s sad and all of these things.”
“I feel like I’m playing for my career just now each time I step on the court, which is a motivation in some ways but it also adds a bit of extra stress.
“There’s a bit of extra doubt there. And on top of that I’m playing with a metal hip, which is hard. Trust me, it’s not easy. It’s a big challenge for me just now and one that I’ll meet head on.”
Murray had to go through a hip resurfacing surgery in early 2019 but made his comeback to secure a win and grab the Antwerp title nine months later.
“I’ve put in a lot of good physical work since then,” said Murray, adding that he felt good physically despite the lengthy outing against Haase.
“Why should I stop because I lost a match last week against someone that people would expect me to win against. I can still compete with the best players in the world with one hip. I think that’s quite amusing really.”