I don't know how much of a tennis following we have on here these days, but this is definitely worth a discussion for even the most casual tennis fan.

Andy Murray will retire from tennis with a Hall of Fame resumé:

- Three-time Grand Slam champion (2012 US Open; 2013, 2016 Wimbledon)
- Two-time Olympic Champion consecutively (London 2012, Rio 2016)
- 2015 Davis Cup Champion
- 2016 ATP Tour Champion
- 45 ATP career titles
- 2016 Year-End World Number One
- Eight-time Grand Slam runner-up (2008 US Open; 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016 Australian Open; 2012 Wimbledon, 2015 French Open)

It's weird, Murray has obviously been in pain for a very long time but for some reason it still feels abrupt and hard to get your head around. Perhaps it's his age, he's still a young man.

Either way, it feels strange to see my biggest sporting hero retire. My interest in tennis has dwindled since his inactivity. It's weird to see Murray going first but soon Federer will follow and we aren't that far away from Nadal or Djokovic going either. Will tennis have a natural downturn in interest? I think it's inevitable and actually have some sympathy with Zverev and his generation of players because how do you follow this act?

Murray himself intends to play the Australian Open and pain allowing, will bow out at Wimbledon. Anyone watching him will know it's a sad sight, at his peak he was a top-10 all-time in movement around the court, now he's below tour average. I think maybe he thought he could compensate for it by becoming more aggressive but that has proven easier said than done.

I think Murray's legacy is a very interesting topic of discussion because it's so difficult to compare between eras. Obviously the stats bear the truth that he was rarely at the same level as Federer, Nadal or Djokovic, but how do you go about judging him compared to players from other eras? Where do you think he ranks?

Tagging Strobe for his thoughts.

I don't really follow tennis but it's upsetting seeing someone so genuinely good that loves a sport have to leave it so suddenly. He's a class act, fights for gender equity in a sport that desperately needs it, is humble despite his success, and really got the short end of the stick with his body giving out on him.

He'll be an ambassador of the sport for the rest of his life, which is great, but it's a shame that this has to happen. Here's hoping he can manage to play one more Wimbledon.

Honestly it's not that huge a surprise. Murray has been in quite a bit of pain for some time, and even if he weren't he's at the age where tennis players at least start to consider retirement. Fed and Serena are freaks of nature, very few will be that good for that long. I could see maybe Novak playing that long, but Nadal will be probably be gone soon after Murray.

I saw this on the news today during my lunch break and it is very saddening. I really like Andy Murray: he's obviously extremely good at what he does, he's a consummate professional, and he's never been afraid to present himself as he is, even if the way he conducts interviews isn't very media friendly. I have huge respect for people like that given how much he is in the public spotlight. Tremendous career and a fantastic tennis/sporting hero that Britain needed for a long time.

As a tribute, here's an article written by journalist and Black Mirror writer Charlie Brooker about Sir Andy Murray around the time of Wimbledon 2012.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/jul/08/andy-murray-not-miserable-just-normal

It has not been fun to watch Murray struggle post-hip surgery. The will is still there but the body is finished. The way he fought against RBA the other day will be a very fitting final match if in turns out to be that way. Quality of life is of primary concern for him now. He must be worth around £50m and has two young children at home. When you have based your life, since you were a child, around being a tennis player, I imagine it can't be easy to have to give it up, but he can do whatever he likes now, bar playing, and can still be involved in the sport in any multitude of ways.

Perhaps it was that late run in 2016 that did a true number on his already damaged hip. From what had looked impossible at the midway point of the year (when Djokovic had won his 4th Major in a row at Roland Garros), there was now a glimmer of a chance for Murray to grab the World #1 spot. He played 5 tournaments over 7 weeks, winning each of them. In the penultimate of those, he achieved the #1 spot, but would need to outperform Novak at the YEC to cement the Year-End #1, which has historical significance in tennis. In the round-robin group stage, he played the longest match in tournament history when defeating Nishikori. In the semi-final, he broke the longest match record again and saved a MP when beating Raonic to reach a YE#1 decider with Djokovic. Fortunately, I was there live to witness Murray's victory that day. And if it was that run that has ended up cutting his career short, then in legacy terms, I'd say it was worth it. World #1 in the era of Fed, Rafa and Novak. Year-end #1. YEC. These all add substantially to his historic placement.

Speaking of which, he is such a tough person to place, perhaps the toughest. Tennis itself, with the pro/am divide pre-Open era, the importance placed on different tournaments at different times and variation of surfaces, is one of the toughest sports to compare across eras. His consistency was incredible as part of a foursome renowned for their consistency - which I will contend was aided by the surface homogenisation of the modern era. Ultimately, he only has 3 Majors - the same as Stan Wawrinka - but in terms of RUs, SFs, QFs at the Majors and title wins at Masters, there is no comparison. He only ever lost to Federer or Novak in a Major final - never having the luxury of facing anyone else until his last Wimbledon final in 2016.

For such a talented player, you could still argue that he managed to overachieve simply based on how bad his second serve has been. Especially against the other big boys, it is just so attackable - slow and rolled into the middle of the box. If he had ever managed to improve it, some of those close big-time matches may have tipped his way. It is a shame he didn't manage to take one of those Australian Open finals against Novak. 5 runner-ups, 1 semi and 1 quarter from the 7 years 2010-2016. 2013 feels like the big missed chance, having BPs early in the second having won the first. And of course DFing after that feather managed to distract him at 2-2 in the second set TB. Letting single moments like that affect him did always seem to be a slight mental flaw that he had. Another that comes to mind is being 1 set up against Rafa in the SF of Wimbledon 2011 and having 15-30 early in the second. He had an easy FH for 2 BPs, but put it long and it just fucked him. Nadal held and in the next game Murray DFed to give BP and then hit an easy smash long for the break and he just let the match go from there.

Having mentioned that he had that fragility at times, he does not get enough credit for his performances at Wimbledon in my book. Nobody else has had the pressure that he had, relentlessly, year-on-year. Not even close really. Fed, Rafa and Novak never had a home Major, where there had not been a home champion for three quarters of a century, and where just a decade prior there had been much hope, expectation and ultimately disappointment from the near-misses of the previous British #1. There are plenty of people in Britain who watch no other tennis than Wimbledon, except perhaps the warm-up tournament Queens. It is part of the national consciousness. It did not matter to many that he had won the US Open. He could've won all of the other three Majors, but if he never won Wimbledon, he'd be a failure to those people. That is the sort of pressure that he overcame. And with his own near misses in prior years, getting over the finish line in 2013 was an incredible achievement - one of the iconic British sporting moments.

For myself personally, when I think of Murray, I think of that run to the US Open final in 2008 and his true emergence as a top, top player. The fantastic losing battle in the YEC SF 2010 against Rafa, as it was the first thing I watched on a TV purchased that morning. That first Major win, the 2012 USO, and that perfectly timed push at the start of the 5th - having lost all 4 of his previous finals, having won the first 2 sets but been clawed back to 2-2, he thought Novak might have a mental dip and relax from levelling it up and he pounced. That crazy final game of the 2013 Wimbledon final where he was triple MP up for a straight sets win, only to find himself BP down thrice where - given the whole situation - it really felt like if Novak broke back that he'd go on to win it in 5. Achieving pretty much the biggest single-handed Davis Cup win ever. And of course being there live to see him secure that YEC and Year-End #1, beating Novak to boot.

Not too shabby for that boy that was cramping up against Nalbandian back in 2005.

Great points Strobe.

One in particular I agree with you on is the push for YE1 in 2016. Clearly it that point in his career it was one of only two things truly motivating him (alongside winning in Melbourne) and it's something he gave everything for. It would be interesting to ask Murray whether he regrets doing that. I'm sure he wouldn't completely change his approach, after all he did achieve the goal, but perhaps he would do parts differently.

Interesting point also about the relativity of 'clutch-ness'. There is where in my opinion Murray was the true no.4 player of the era. Compared to every other player (examples are Cilic, Berdych, Tsonga, etc. who he 'out-clutched several times at slams), you'd never bet against Murray no matter how shaky looked or how hot his opponent was. Against the top three, his role reversed. You never quite felt secure in his ability to get the win in big 5-setters against those players.

I'm not entirely sure he's done now either, btw. If the operation is successful I think he'll try to come back.

What exactly is wrong with his hip? He's had surgery before, right?

Jan 17, 2019 18:07:04 GMT Emperor said:

What exactly is wrong with his hip? He's had surgery before, right?

He probably has some sort of arthritis. 

Jan 11, 2019 9:40:01 GMT Todd said:

Perhaps it's his age, he's still a young man.

In historic tennis terms, he isn't really. Sampras, Edberg and Becker were all retired at a younger/similar age to what he is now. Obviously the tour has been skewing older recently and the reasons why can be debated. I think Fed, Rafa and Novak all still being around, being the top 3 and all having recovered from their own injury issues might be what makes this seem a tad sudden.

Jan 17, 2019 11:01:21 GMT Todd said:

Interesting point also about the relativity of 'clutch-ness'. There is where in my opinion Murray was the true no.4 player of the era. Compared to every other player (examples are Cilic, Berdych, Tsonga, etc. who he 'out-clutched several times at slams), you'd never bet against Murray no matter how shaky looked or how hot his opponent was. Against the top three, his role reversed. You never quite felt secure in his ability to get the win in big 5-setters against those players.

Yeah, look no further than his QF win when he won his first Major at the 2012 US Open. Cilic was a set and a double break up, but he always has had a fragility that makes him vulnerable to all of the big 4. Part of why I was so pissed with Fed for getting broken straight back in the third set of that 2014 USO SF. If he consolidates the break, there is every chance Cilic beats himself from there.

One thing I will miss from Murray is those bizarre Murray-Go-Round matches against lesser players. Somehow going a double break down in the first set, only to then get going and win it anyway, then lose the second in equally bizarre fashion. Weird spikes and dips of form. Changes of momentum all over the place. But he'd typically win - unlike say a Monfils who can be involved in similarly weird matches - and his opponent would just have a bit of a glazed over look trying to figure out what the hell just happened.

Jan 17, 2019 11:01:21 GMT Todd said:

I'm not entirely sure he's done now either, btw. If the operation is successful I think he'll try to come back.

It is possible. As Bob Bryan says, singles is a different beast and depending on what he has done, even if it allows him to play for another couple of years, it might not be good for him long term.

Jan 17, 2019 18:07:04 GMT Emperor said:

What exactly is wrong with his hip? He's had surgery before, right?

He has never disclosed exactly what the problem is. Many think it might be a labral tear - basically a tear in the soft tissue around the hip that results in inflammation and becomes incredibly painful. He did have surgery, but like the actual problem, we don't really know what it was.

I mentioned Rafa probably retiring soon after Murray, but after watching him in the Australian Open I'm not so sure anymore. I've never seen him this dominant before, he's just been wrecking everyone this tournament.