BBC pundit John McEnroe has posed the question over whether Andy Murray’s wife Kim Sears may “put her foot down” and sway his retirement decision after his second-round Wimbledon defeat to Stefanos Tsitsipas. The Brit refused to comment on whether he had played his last game at SW19, prompting fans to worry over whether he is planning to call it a day on his illustrious career.
McEnroe explained as he spoke to the broadcaster over the possibility of Murray retiring “I don’t know if the missus will put her foot down a little bit like ‘hey, I need some help at home’.” The American three-time Wimbledon singles champion suggested, however, that with four kids at home Murray may prefer to continue playing as players in his situation can get more sleep at tournaments.
“When the top guys usually get to that point it’s hard to keep playing,” McEnroe added when talking about Murray’s rank of over 100. “His love for the game, he loves it so much he loves to compete. Maybe he needs some sleep, I’ve got six kids he’s got four now – trust me, when you play tournaments you get more sleep.
“That’s one reason to keep playing, pay the bills a little bit. But he does love to play and you don’t want to go out as a champion when you’re hurt. It hurts big time, I am not around regularly and Ivan [Lendl] doesn’t tell me but I believe for the most part I believe he has lived a relatively monk-like existence for the past 15 years or more so this is nothing new to him.
“He probably has to do even more for the body to keep it at a point where he feels at least that he can compete, this is one of the great movers – one of the top 10 movers I have ever seen in the sport, who is not as quick or explosive. Obviously he is fit, there is no question about that he has always been incredibly dedicated.”
After his 7-6(3) 6-7(2) 4-6 7-6(3) 6-4 defeat to Tsitsipas that took place over two days, Murray said: “I’m obviously very disappointed just now. You never know how many opportunities you’re going to get to play here. The defeats maybe feel a bit tougher. But, to be honest, every year that Wimbledon has not gone how I would like, it has been hard. This was an opportunity for me. I had a good chance of having a proper run for the first time in a long time at a slam. I didn’t take it.”
McEnroe echoed Murray’s sentiments that it was a hard defeat for Murray. “This is going to be a really tough one to swallow,” he said. “The door was open to make a run here. The let-down is going to be unbelievable, I don’t know what his schedule is going to be like this summer – whatever Andy wants is to me what he should do, if he wants to keep playing but to go through all this and not even being sure you can make a deep run next year.”
When asked if he can see Murray returning next year, McEnroe explained: “At the moment I see him coming back, I don’t know if the missus will put her foot down a little bit like ‘hey, I need some help at home a little more’ I am not sure.
“Obviously it’s an issue I would think, I am sure she’s saying ‘do whatever you want’ I mean he’s 36, he has got some type of metal thing in his hip – it doesn’t get any easier.”
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