The most crushing aspect of Andy Murray’s Australian Open was not the first press conference, when he wept after two words and then announced his possible retirement at Wimbledon, if not before, due to a persistent hip injury. Nor was it the instant classic first-round match, which Murray lost to Roberto Bautista Agut in five sets. After the eulogies and the public mourning and the widespread consensus on the significance of his glittering career, the most dispiriting moment came when, shattered by his regrets, he rebutted them all. “Some people might say: ‘It’s a positive thing that Andy worked really, really hard, such and such, trained hard,’” said Murray in his post-match press conference. “But I also often didn’t stop myself when I was being told to do things. I should have sometimes said, ‘No, I’m not doing that today.’ Or: ‘No, I don’t want to train today. I’m sore. I need a day off.’ I didn’t do that.” Murray’s doubts and his ravaged cartilage are the most significant news from the Australian Open this year, but that news is also a larger reflection of the grind that tennis inflicts on its subjects. Governed by points, prize money, and appearance fees, the athletes circle the globe for 11 months each year, chasing the sun and success. Tennis players must meet specific tournament quotas to collect bonuses and maintain their rankings. For most, this means a constant cycle of traveling, playing matches, or training for their next event, with the threat of burnout and injury looming endlessly. “You don’t know how long you’re going to be successful,” says Roger Federer, one of the most successful players in the history of the sport. “You just don’t know. That’s why I think a tennis player’s life, it’s very short-term planning. It makes it kind of difficult because we don’t have a five-year deal in some club, like team sports.” It’s often only when players meet people from outside of their bubble that they consider the strangeness of their professional lives. “I speak to French handball player Daniel Narcisse and he says: ‘Fuck! It’s crazy for you guys. One week you’re in Australia. One week you’re in France,’” says young Frenchman Lucas Pouille. “We travel all the time, we play, and we never rest.” Related Andy Murray Deserves a Better Farewell The grueling schedule grinds players mentally and robs them of their free time, but the physical cost is often insurmountable. In the past two years, almost every male top player has suffered a serious, career-threatening injury. Roger Federer tore his meniscus, Novak Djokovic sobbed for three days after he was forced undergo surgery, and Rafael Nadal has spent his career at war with his own body. Murray, meanwhile, has struggled with his hip since 2017. “The men have the longest season,” says Andrea Petkovic. “Plus, they have the best of five at the slams. Especially the best players, I think they will start to rethink everything.” Still, female players face similar demands in a physical sport with immense depth. “It’s a very taxing profession,” says Johanna Konta, laughing. “There’s no other way to say it. We consciously put our bodies and our mental and physical health on the line to be able to be in the position to get a chance to achieve something.” Murray’s injury, and his emotional press conference, have recently highlighted the grueling nature of the sport, but it has been a constant refrain from the players for decades. At the ATP Finals in mid-November last year, just six weeks before the beginning of the new year, Alexander Zverev spoke out about the length of the season, branding it “ridiculous”: “We don’t have time to prepare. We finish here, we go for a 10-day holiday, then we train for two weeks, then we go to Australia,” he said. “I think every sport has somewhat of an offseason. We have, too, but you can’t count it like that,” Federer says. Nadal in particular takes issue with the dominance of the concrete surface that pounds the joint and his knees. At the Australian Open, he shrugged. “It’s true that I’ve had so many injuries in my career,” he says. “I’ve said it many times but in the end, I think that one has to consider if tennis wants to go down this route on this surface.” Though most players can’t relate to the potentially life-altering aspects of Murray’s injuries, they understand that it’s a possibility for all. “You’re not asking yourself, ‘Hey, am I going to be able to play tennis next week, or next match, or the next Grand Slam down the road,” Milos Raonic says. “You’re sort of asking yourself: ‘Can I live a normal life after? Could I go out for a run, can I stay in shape? Or am I going to be confined to very limited activities in life?” The greatest measure of tennis’s dysfunction is in the way it contradicts regular athletic norms. In most other sports, injuries are the greatest enemy: They sideline competitors from their livelihoods and overwhelm an individual with doubt. But recent tennis seasons have been filled with players who suffered serious injuries, departed the tour for a long period, and then returned with a refreshed perspective. In tennis, injuries can inadvertently drive players to their greatest success. U.S. no. 1 Sloane Stephens achieved one of the great comebacks in 2017 by winning the U.S. Open in her fifth tournament back from foot surgery after only 11 months away. For Stephens, her break from the sport offered her a “reset” and the chance to live like a real person. “I felt like I was missing something at home,” she says. “I was able to be with my grandparents and really experience life.” The latest wave of players to return to the sport after career-threatening injuries included former slam finalists Tomas Berdych and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. For Berdych, it wasn’t until he finally paused for six months in 2018 that he was able to sit back and reflect on the absurdity of his existence in the sport.<doc-sep>After Andy Murray had tearfully laid bare the extent of his physical struggles, British tennis badly needed a shot in the arm at the Australian Open. Instead - despite the small consolation of Johanna Konta and Dan Evans’ gallant exits - the Brits fired a collective blank, with none reaching the third round of the singles events for the first time in more than a decade. For years, life after Murray has been a prospect too ghastly to contemplate, and as it hoves into view, there is a question facing British tennis that lingers like a heavily-sliced backhand: what on earth happens now? In the longer term - as revealed by The Telegraph last week - the Lawn Tennis Association is planning to enlist Murray’s help to revolutionise the development of young players. Many supporters will be primarily concerned with the short term, however, and wondering whether British tennis will soon be hurtling back to the pre-Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski wilderness. Starting with the men’s side, there are a few causes for optimism. Kyle Edmund, 24, is ranked No. 14 in the world, and showcased his potential by reaching the semi-finals of last year’s Australian Open. Perennial British hope and former world No. 4 Henman, as well as others like seven-time grand-slam champion Mats Wilander, believe Edmund is a top-10 player in the making.<doc-sep>Last updated on .From the section Tennis Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares won the Australian Open title together in 2016 Australian Open 2019 Venue: Melbourne Park Dates: 14-27 January Coverage: Daily live commentaries on the BBC Sport website, listen to Tennis Breakfast daily from 07:00 GMT on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra and watch highlights on BBC TV and online. Britain's Jamie Murray and Brazilian partner Bruno Soares booked their place in the men's doubles quarter-finals at the Australian Open. The third seeds beat German Kevin Krawietz and Croat Nikola Mektic 6-7 6-2 7-5 after saving three match points in the deciding set. After losing the first set, they responded with two breaks in the second and another at the end of the third. The pair face Finn Henri Kontinen and Australian John Peers next. Murray is also into the third round of the mixed doubles after he and his partner, America's Bethanie Mattek-Sands, beat Robert Lindstedt and Kristina Mladenovic 6-4 6-4. Also in the mixed doubles, Britain's Neal Skupski and Spanish partner Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez beat Australian pair Jessica Moore and Andrew Withington 6-4 6-1. However, Briton Joe Salisbury and American partner Rajeev Ram were beaten 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 by French Open champions Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert, both of France, in their men's doubles third-round match.<doc-sep>Published 01/14/2019, 4:14 AM PST With his niggling hip injury still bothering him, victory for Andy Murray was always going to be far-fetched. However the Scot, who is expected to retire later this year, decided that he was not going down without a fight. ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad To be honest, fight was a bit of an understatement as he clawed his way back from 2 set down. Sadly, Roberto Bautista Agut held his nerve in two lost tie breaks to take the final set. The score read, 6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 6-7, 6-2 in the Spaniard’s favour. When Bautista Agut went two sets ahead, everyone believed that it was all over. But then, Murray had other ideas and lived to fight on. He took the third set into a tiebreak and amazingly clinched it. Then, in the fourth set, he repeated the process again, taking it into a tiebreak and winning. ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad https://twitter.com/AustralianOpen/status/1084787587267604486 Naturally, this gave off the impression that he was trying to play the long game and tire Agut out. But then, in the final set, he seemingly ran out of steam and was forced to settle for a score of 2-6. Inspite of the loss, Murray definitely won a lot of hearts and with the crowd egging him on, it was enough to instil some fighting spirit in Andy Murray. Here is how Twitter reacted to Murray’s plucky display. https://twitter.com/KathShez/status/1084782296685862920 ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad<doc-sep>
Dr Edwin Su believes hip resurfacing surgery can help Sir Andy Murray return to the top level of tennis. The former world number one is expected to make a decision over the coming week whether to have the operation or prepare for a farewell appearance at Wimbledon this summer. Dr Su is a world-leading expert in the surgery and has helped a number of professional athletes return to their sport, including doubles specialist Bob Bryan, who is playing at the Australian Open less than six months after going under the knife. Bryan has recommended Su to Murray, although the much greater physical demands of singles means there are no guarantees of a similar outcome. Speaking to the Mail on Sunday, Su said: "I think it would absolutely be able to help him. Ideally, it is with no pain. Most of the time, right away from the time they wake up from the surgery, patients say that the pain is gone. Andy Murray's career high and lows Show all 10 1 /10 Andy Murray's career high and lows Andy Murray's career high and lows Highs: Summer of 2012 Only a month after his tearful fourth grand slam final loss to Roger Federer at Wimbledon, Murray gained redemption in spectacular fashion by emphatically defeating the Swiss to claim Olympic gold on Centre Court. He followed it up at the US Open by ending the long wait for a British male grand slam singles champion with a dramatic five-set victory over Novak Djokovic. Getty Andy Murray's career high and lows First Wimbledon The victory that will always be top of the pile came on a glorious summer's day at SW19. Murray faced Djokovic again in front of an expectant crowd on Centre Court and rode the wave to finally consign Fred Perry to history, surviving a nerve-jangling final game. Getty Andy Murray's career high and lows Davis Cup glory Wimbledon was Murray's crowning individual glory but arguably his most extraordinary accomplishment was winning the Davis Cup for Britain almost single-handed. His brother Jamie and James Ward chipped in but Murray won an unprecedented 11 out of 12 rubbers across four ties. Getty Andy Murray's career high and lows 2016 Wimbledon and Olympics After reuniting with Ivan Lendl, Murray swept to his third slam title at Wimbledon, this time beating Milos Raonic. And a month later he made some history for himself, overcoming Juan Martin Del Potro in Rio to become the first tennis player to successfully defend an Olympic singles title. Getty Andy Murray's career high and lows World number one The season of Murray's career had a golden ending when a run of five straight tournament victories, culminating in victory at the ATP Finals in London, carried him to the world number one ranking. Getty Andy Murray's career high and lows Lows: Knee trouble Murray feared his career might be over before it began when knee pain interrupted his training in Spain at the age of 16. He was diagnosed with a bipartite patella but was able to manage it effectively. Getty Andy Murray's career high and lows Anyone but England Teenage joshing with Tim Henman during an interview in 2006 came back to haunt Murray when his joke that he would be supporting 'anyone but England' at that summer's football World Cup was widely publicised and damaged his public image and his relationship with the press for several years. Getty Andy Murray's career high and lows Back surgery Murray's first time under the knife came in 2013, when he decided a troublesome back problem needed to be fixed by surgery. The Scot was only sidelined for three months but it took him a long time to fully recover. Getty Andy Murray's career high and lows Lendl split While Murray was working his way back in 2014, he was dealt a major body blow when mentor Lendl decided he no longer wanted to continue their relationship. Their reunion in 2016 helped the Scot win more of the sport's biggest prizes. Getty Andy Murray's career high and lows Hip pain The low that has overshadowed all the rest began after the French Open in 2017, when Murray found he was no longer able to recover from chronic hip pain that he had been managing. Despite surgery and long periods of recovery and rehabilitation, the 31-year-old has not found a solution. Getty "It is really miraculous.