Should Andy Murray retire?
Poll: Should Andy Murray retire?
Total Members Polled: 34
Discussion
Just seen that Andy beaten in Metz.
I’ve followed Andy’s career for years and supported him (although was always a bit conflicted when he played Roger).
In his prime he was great. Today he seems like a shadow of his former self. Occasionally he plays a good match but then gets outclassed by opponents he would have beaten easily before his injury problems.
Obviously it is his decision to carry on but would you advise him to retire, to prevent doing further injury to his body and save himself from becoming a bit of an embarrassment?
There is no “don’t care/don’t have an opinion “ option, because if you don’t care or have an opinion why click on the poll?
I’ve followed Andy’s career for years and supported him (although was always a bit conflicted when he played Roger).
In his prime he was great. Today he seems like a shadow of his former self. Occasionally he plays a good match but then gets outclassed by opponents he would have beaten easily before his injury problems.
Obviously it is his decision to carry on but would you advise him to retire, to prevent doing further injury to his body and save himself from becoming a bit of an embarrassment?
There is no “don’t care/don’t have an opinion “ option, because if you don’t care or have an opinion why click on the poll?
Honestly I don't follow tennis massively but....
If he's still enjoying it then why not. He will still be earning a good wage and you're a long time retired as a sports man. The routine, challenge, income will be very hard to replicate once retired.
It's a shame to see that he's no where near the level he was, but to compete at that era of tennis and come out the otherside with a couple of grand slams and Olympic golds is a massive achievement. Djokovic, Federer and Nadal will be seen as 3 of the very best players ever for a long time to come.
I guess he will have doctors and physiotherapists who will advise him when it's time to put his body before his passion.
If he's still enjoying it then why not. He will still be earning a good wage and you're a long time retired as a sports man. The routine, challenge, income will be very hard to replicate once retired.
It's a shame to see that he's no where near the level he was, but to compete at that era of tennis and come out the otherside with a couple of grand slams and Olympic golds is a massive achievement. Djokovic, Federer and Nadal will be seen as 3 of the very best players ever for a long time to come.
I guess he will have doctors and physiotherapists who will advise him when it's time to put his body before his passion.
Edited by WonkeyDonkey on Saturday 25th September 00:35
I’m not a huge tennis follower by as I understand it, players are seeded and gain entry to tournaments based on outcomes not on being a ‘name’. On this basis he can do what he likes, if he’s still competitive enough to get a match now and then let him crack on.
By comparison I follow F1, whereby spots which could be available to rising talent are taken due to teams not wanting to lose the sponsorship associated with the has beens.
By comparison I follow F1, whereby spots which could be available to rising talent are taken due to teams not wanting to lose the sponsorship associated with the has beens.
It’s a difficult one as it is always frustrating watching someone perform relatively poorly compared to the previous standard in any sport.
I always had great respect for Steve Davis who carried on playing snooker way past his zenith and gently slipped down the rankings rather than quitting just at the point when he stopped winning.
I always had great respect for Steve Davis who carried on playing snooker way past his zenith and gently slipped down the rankings rather than quitting just at the point when he stopped winning.
If it doesn't impact his health I don't see any reason for him to stop. However I remember how bad he was before his hip operation and him talking about being happy if he can even walk again, let alone play tennis.
If his last hip job was a get out of jail card I'd be inclined to pack up an retire. Of course that attitude is also probably why I am world-beating at precisely nothing and he is a former #1.
If his last hip job was a get out of jail card I'd be inclined to pack up an retire. Of course that attitude is also probably why I am world-beating at precisely nothing and he is a former #1.
glazbagun said:
If it doesn't impact his health I don't see any reason for him to stop. However I remember how bad he was before his hip operation and him talking about being happy if he can even walk again, let alone play tennis.
If his last hip job was a get out of jail card I'd be inclined to pack up an retire. Of course that attitude is also probably why I am world-beating at precisely nothing and he is a former #1.
I posed the question almost wholly based on his health. As you say, before his operation he could hardly walk. Training really hard again to play competitively must put a lot of strain on his body. Maybe he will be fine. But at least in the past he was risking his long term health to win grand slams and be number 1. Doing that to scrape through rounds at minor tournaments seems to be on the wrong side of the risk reward equation. Of course he is being advised and we don’t know what is being said but many top athletes are super competitive and don’t always listen to sensible advice eg surely any sensible person would not race at the TT but they do.If his last hip job was a get out of jail card I'd be inclined to pack up an retire. Of course that attitude is also probably why I am world-beating at precisely nothing and he is a former #1.
Judging by his recent improvement game by game, I would say no.
The more he plays, the closer he gets back to his old sharpness - the determination is there, he just needs quality match practice time. He won't ever get back to his best but 8/10 or 9/10 of that will see him back in the top 50, maybe the top 20. He's probably got two, at best three years left in him so why not see what he can do.
The more he plays, the closer he gets back to his old sharpness - the determination is there, he just needs quality match practice time. He won't ever get back to his best but 8/10 or 9/10 of that will see him back in the top 50, maybe the top 20. He's probably got two, at best three years left in him so why not see what he can do.
McGee_22 said:
Judging by his recent improvement game by game, I would say no.
The more he plays, the closer he gets back to his old sharpness - the determination is there, he just needs quality match practice time. He won't ever get back to his best but 8/10 or 9/10 of that will see him back in the top 50, maybe the top 20. He's probably got two, at best three years left in him so why not see what he can do.
Was just thinking the same, he seems to be improving.The more he plays, the closer he gets back to his old sharpness - the determination is there, he just needs quality match practice time. He won't ever get back to his best but 8/10 or 9/10 of that will see him back in the top 50, maybe the top 20. He's probably got two, at best three years left in him so why not see what he can do.
Sportspeople generally retire based on when they're of an age where they're not going to stay at their best whether they're top of their game or not. There are some exceptions such as when they get to the top and retire even through they're still relatively young, possibly as that success was unexpected, arguably Nico Rosberg being one of the later.
The fact Andy is not anywhere near his best and has absolutely minimal chance of a slam again but still wants to play is absolutely wonderful in my opinion. It seems as though he wants to play tennis and whether that's as world number 1, world number 153 or without a ranking at all appears to not be a deciding factor for him and neither is the opinion of the spectators who don't like the fact he's not entertaining them. There's something quite cool about that in my opinion and it's certainly given me another level of respect for him.
The fact Andy is not anywhere near his best and has absolutely minimal chance of a slam again but still wants to play is absolutely wonderful in my opinion. It seems as though he wants to play tennis and whether that's as world number 1, world number 153 or without a ranking at all appears to not be a deciding factor for him and neither is the opinion of the spectators who don't like the fact he's not entertaining them. There's something quite cool about that in my opinion and it's certainly given me another level of respect for him.
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