Andy Murray has acknowledged that he may have to come to terms with the possibility that a coveted deep run at a Grand Slam might never materialize, following his recent exit in the US Open second round.
The 36-year-old former world number one suffered a 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 defeat against 19th seed Grigor Dimitrov in New York.
Murray, currently ranked 37th, has not advanced to the last 16 of a major tournament since making his comeback after undergoing hip surgery in 2019.
“It’s unbelievably challenging to play at the highest level,” he said.
“It’s obviously disappointing to not play how you would like.
“Maybe I need to accept the deep runs and everything that I felt I’m capable of, they might not be there.”
This season, Andy Murray had set his sights on a significant achievement in his tennis career, aiming to put together a noteworthy run at a major tournament. As a three-time Grand Slam champion, Murray is well aware that he is in the twilight of his career.
His journey in the Grand Slam events this year saw him reach the third round of the Australian Open in January. After opting to skip the French Open, he faced a setback by exiting in the second round at Wimbledon last month.
Despite these challenges at the major tournaments, Murray’s determination has remained unwavering. Notably, he has made progress in his rankings, recently reaching his highest ranking since his comeback four years ago.
“I still enjoy everything that goes into it. I enjoy the work, the training and trying to improve and trying to get better,” said Murray, who reached the Doha final in February and has won three titles on the second-tier ATP Challenger Tour this year.
“That’s what keeps me going.
“If I stop enjoying that – or my results, my ranking and everything starts to go backwards, if in a few months’ time I was ranked 60 in the world or whatever instead of moving up – things might change.”
On paper, securing a seeding going into the four Grand Slam events would have appeared to improve Andy Murray’s prospects of making deeper runs in these prestigious tournaments.
Unfortunately, Murray’s ambitions were recently hampered by his withdrawal from the tournaments in Toronto and Cincinnati this month due to an abdominal injury. This setback resulted in his narrowly missing out on a top 32 seeding going into the US Open, which didn’t work in his favor in New York.
Following his recovery from the injury, Murray displayed a commendable performance in his opening-round victory over France’s Corentin Moutet. However, his level of play noticeably declined when he faced the experienced Grigor Dimitrov.
“If I want to have deep runs in these tournaments, I’m going to have to come up against players like Grigor,” said Murray, who lost to fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Wimbledon second round.
“Whether I was seeded or not here in the top 32, I don’t think that guarantees I’m going to have a deep run either.”
Grigor Dimitrov, a former world number three and coached by Dani Vallverdu, who previously worked with Murray, deserves significant credit for successfully executing a well-thought-out gameplan aimed at frustrating the British player.
Dimitrov’s effective use of the backhand slice consistently disrupted the pace of the rallies, compelling Murray into lengthy baseline exchanges and physically demanding duels. Murray found himself on the back foot, being broken in the first service game of each set, and struggled to convert just two of the nine break points he created.
For Murray’s supporters in Arthur Ashe Stadium, the match became increasingly challenging to watch. Murray, a beloved figure at the venue where he secured the first of his three major titles, faced a daunting deficit in the third set. He conveyed to his team that he was conceding, and his difficulties were epitomized by a double fault on Dimitrov’s third match point.
Dimitrov, a 32-year-old who reached the US Open semi-finals in 2019, will advance to the last 32 to face German 12th seed Alexander Zverev.
Meanwhile, Murray expressed his intention to return to the UK as soon as possible and indicated that he might not participate for Great Britain in the upcoming Davis Cup tie in Manchester next month.
“If I’m being honest, the other guys deserve to play ahead of me,” said Murray, who suggested Jack Draper should play instead.
“I think there is probably a chance that I’m not on the team. I’ll try to get home this evening or tomorrow morning, then see where I go from there.”