Andy Murray addresses retirement speculation after 1R exit from Australian Open 2024, says family knows where he would like to finish playing

Three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray addressed the speculation about his retirement after exiting the Australian Open 2024 on Monday, January 15.

Murray crashed out of the Happy Slam following a devastating loss to Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the opening round. He struggled to hold his serve throughout the match as his opponent earned a total of 14 break points and converted six.

The Brit committed two double faults against Etcheverry's zero and also lagged behind the Argentinian in hitting aces. He offered some resistance in the opening set but Etcheverry dominated the next two to progress through to the second round with a 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 win.

Murray's loss invited questions about his retirement during the post-match conference. On being asked about what his future beholds, he replied:

"I've spoken to my family about it, I've spoken to my team about it, well, yeah, 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."

The 36-year-old admitted to harboring the thought of calling it a day soon.

"Yeah, it's obviously something that I need to think about and see exactly when that is. I have spoken to my team about it. I've spoken to my family about it multiple times. It's not like it hasn't been something that's been on my mind," he said.

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Andy Murray: "I haven't gained in belief from today's match that at some stage I'm going to start playing really well again"

Andy Murray

Andy Murray also expressed dejection over the Monday loss during the press conference. He stated:

"Look, I have an idea of what I would probably like to finish playing. So much of that depends on how you're playing. The time frame for that narrows when you play and have results like today."

The two-time Wimbledon champion commended Tomas Martin Etcheverry, saying:

"I know that Tomas is a really, 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."

Andy Murray suggested that the Monday outing didn't instill a belief in him that he could compete with conviction in big matches.

"I haven't gained in belief from today's match that at some stage I'm going to start playing really well again or winning tournaments or getting to the latter stages of major events," he added.