Andy Murray has admitted that he doesn’t know many more opportunities he will get to play on Centre Court at Wimbledon, hinting that retirement is near for the former world No 1. The 35-year-old came into the tournament under a cloud of doubt over his fitness.
Murray performed well at Stuttgart, beating Nick Kyrgios and Stefanos Tsitsipas to reach the final. But he lost to Matteo Berrettini and picked up an injury in the process, sparking doubt on his ability to compete at Wimbledon.
Murray declared himself fit to play last week, but there was definitely some rustiness against Duckworth in the opening exchanges. The former British No 1 was struggling to cope with Duckworth’s strong 130mph-plus serve.
And the Australian took advantage late in the first set to take an early lead, leaving Murray with a mountain to climb straight away. In typical Murray fashion on Centre Court, Murray dug deep to draw level in the second set and then utterly dominated his opponent to take a lead in the third.
From there, the result seemed a formality as Duckworth appeared spent in pushing for a comeback of his own. Murray eventually saw out the win with an ace, progressing to the second round where he will face No 20 seed John Isner.
Murray has made it clear that he still feels able to challenge at Wimbledon, but he is aware that time is running out for him. “Obviously I’m getting on a bit now,” Murray said.
“So I don’t know how many more opportunities I’ll get to play on this court so I want to make the most of every time I get to come out here. Hopefully I’ll get another match on here in a couple of days.”
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