No one has the right to tell Andy Murray that his time is up on the professional circuit with Darren Cahill saying the former world No 1 still has a lot left in his tank and remains committed to putting in the hard work.
Three-time Grand Slam winner Murray has started the 2024 season with three consecutive defeats with his last win coming in October last year at the Swiss Indoors.
Following his first-round exit from the Open Sud De France last week, some questioned whether or not he was tarnishing his legacy.
Murray then took aim at a BBC piece suggesting that it might be time for him to quit as he stated: “Tarnishing my legacy? Do me a favour. I’m in a terrible moment right now I’ll give you that. Most people would quit and give up in my situation right now. But I’m not most people and my mind works differently.
“I won’t quit. I will keep fighting and working to produce the performances I know I’m capable of.”
Cahill, fresh from a successful Australian Open run as he was part of eventual champion Jannik Sinner’s coaching set-up, came to Murray’s defence.
During the Run Home With Andy & Gazey podcast on Australia’s Sen 1116, he explained why Murray deserves to go out on his own terms.
“Andy is one of the greatest competitors our sport has seen, because nothing has come easy to him and he has had to work damn hard for everything that he has achieved in the game. No one has the right to tell him when to hang it up,” he said.
“He practised with Sinner about a week before the Australian Open, they were supposed to play three sets, Andy won the first two and I think Jannik was up a break in the third set, he was playing out of his mind, he was playing so well and Jannik [himself] was playing good tennis.
“I then saw him at Kooyong and he played pretty well, but he was [also] grinding away on the practice court and I walked passed him and said ‘you just love this sport, don’t you’ and he said ‘yeah, I love it so much’.
“He can play for as long as he wants, there is no damaging his brand. What he has been able to achieve in his career has been remarkable, considering the opposition he has had.
“He came in the era of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic. To win majors in that era has been really, really tough and Andy was able to do it three times, he won a couple of Wimbledons, he won an Olympic gold medal and he became the No 1 player in the world. 99.999% of the public or tennis playing people would take that career in a heartbeat.
“I know he is putting the work in, his body just needs to hold up. He is not playing with a great deal of confidence at the moment, which is surprising because he was playing really well before the Australian Open, but he has got plenty of time.
“Novak is the same age as him and he is the No 1 player in the world. So, if he can get it right and his body is holding up, there is still a lot left for Andy, if he wants it.”