Andy Murray drops major retirement hint after waving goodbye to the Australian Open crowd following limp first-round straight sets defeat

Andy Murray suffered a dismal first round exit at the Australian Open on Monday He was beaten 6-4 6-2 6-2 by 30th seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry in Melborune After the defeat, Murray cut a despondent figure as he dropped retirement hints

Andy Murray has already discussed his exit strategy from tennis with those close to him, and that process will have been accelerated by a humbling defeat in the first round of the Australian Open.

The double Wimbledon champion, five-times a finalist at Melbourne Park, was beaten 6-4 6-2 6-2 by 30th seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry. He later revealed that the timeline is shrinking for him to bid farewell.

Murray was strangely subdued in going down to an extremely solid if not especially intimidating opponent, and cut a despondent figure afterwards. He had left the court with a 360 degree turn to wave at all corners, and he subsequently explained the reason for that.

‘It’s a definite possibility that will be the last time I play here,’ he said, after going down in two hours and 24 minutes. ‘In comparison to the matches that I played here last year, it’s the complete opposite feeling walking off the court.’

Clearly the date and manner of his retirement has been on his mind and, while there is nothing definitive, he admitted that performances like this can only bring it forward.

Andy Murray has dropped a major retirement hint after his limp exit from the Australian Open

Murray was beaten 6-4 6-2 6-2 by 30th seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry (above) in the first round

‘I have an idea of when I would probably like to finish, so much of that depends on how you’re playing. The time frame for that narrows when you play and have results like today.’

It is not as if the subject has been taboo with either the team around him, or his family.

‘I’ve spoken to them about it. I’ve spoken to my family about it multiple times,’ he revealed. ‘I’ve spoken to my team about it. they’re very aware of how I feel about things, where I would like to finish playing, when that would be.

‘I haven’t made any definite decisions on that. It’s obviously something that I need to think about and see exactly when that is.’

Wimbledon is the obvious place to go out, but the US Open holds a special place in his heart, being the place where he won his first Grand Slam.

What he could be absolutely clear about was that there is no future in just making up the numbers, and being unable to make any impression on the field. The contrast to 2023, when he reached the third round through dramatic comebacks, was not lost on him.

Murray cut a despondent figure after losing to the Argentine, waving farewell to the crowd

In his post-match press conference, he said: ‘It was a poor performance. It was very, very flat’

‘Last year was a slightly different story. Physically I held up well against two really good players. Very different situation sitting here. So the time frame narrows a little bit for me to get to a level that I want to be at.

‘It was a poor performance. It was very, very flat. It was an amazing crowd. I felt like they were trying to pick me up, support and get behind me. Usually I would always engage the crowd and get them going and bring some energy.

‘But it was a flat performance. I don’t know exactly why that was the case because I’ve been feeling good going in. Played pretty well in Brisbane. Practised really well the last 10 days or so.

‘Tomas is a really good player. I’m aware of that. Even if I play well today, I can still lose the match. It’s just the nature of the performance that makes you question things.’