Andy Murray has revealed he will decide tonight whether to take to the Wimbledon court for a final time in the singles after speaking with his team and family.
The 37-year-old showed definite signs of improvement during a practice session this afternoon as he was seen hitting against fellow British player Kyle Edmund.
But Murray remains unsure whether he is in good enough physical shape to play his first-round match against Czech Tomas Machac tomorrow. And he confirmed after his practice that he would ‘most likely’ make a decision on his fitness this evening.
Asked how he felt the session had gone today, Murray replied: ‘It went OK’ – before joking to reporters: ‘How did you think it went, you’re the experts?’
Murray was leading Edmund 6-3 2-0 when they reached the end of their session, and he added: ‘It was good. I’m going to go and have a chat with my team now, speak to my family this evening and then make a decision.
Andy Murray practising on day one of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships this afternoon
Andy Murray had a practice session with fellow British player Kyle Edmund this afternoon
The two-time champion is also in the doubles draw to play with his brother Jamie this week
Andy Murray practising on day one of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships this afternoon
‘It’s getting better and the testing and stuff I’ve done has been good, I just need to decide whether it’s enough to compete.’
The two-time former champion has yet to confirm whether he will even take part after struggling with a back problem at Queen’s Club which led to weakness in his right leg, resulting in him undergoing surgery last weekend to remove a spinal cyst.
Today, he was serving well and hitting some strong groundstokes but his movement undoubtedly remains compromised and he was struggling when pulled out wide.
Machac, ranked 39, is likely to make the match physical, although he is inexperienced on grass.
While Murray is understandably desperate to make a final singles appearance at the All England Club before retirement, he would want to be able to give a good account of himself.
Murray’s indecision provides a headache for Wimbledon organisers in terms of tomorrow’s order of play, but chief executive Sally Bolton said: ‘We’ve always got plenty of scheduling challenges to face.
‘As he said himself, Andy has earned the right to make the decision and we will absolutely respect that.
‘All of us have therefore got to be agile in the way that we deliver our plans, but we’re really happy to do that. It’s very much for Andy to make this decision and make it at the right time for him.’
It would undoubtedly be a blow to the tournament if Murray is not able to compete, although there appears to be a very good chance that he will be fit enough to team up with his brother Jamie in doubles even if he decides against singles.
‘We would love to see him on court,’ said Bolton. ‘Of course, if he isn’t, we’ve got plenty of other tennis going on, but I know the fans will be absolutely desperate to see him play so we wish him well in getting on court.’
Bolton was keeping close to her chest Wimbledon’s plans for honouring Murray – who has won the men’s singles twice in 2013 and 2016 – whenever his final moment at the All England Club comes.
‘We have got a variety of plans sitting waiting to deliver,’ she said. ‘It really is for Andy to make that call and we’ll be ready whenever that happens.
‘There’s been various conversations ongoing for some time now. Andy of course is very focused on his performance, not really on anything else.
‘Once he decides to retire and we all get the chance to celebrate him I think you’ll really see how much he has meant to not just the tennis-loving public but the sports-loving public in the UK. I think there’ll be tears around the house.’
Murray confirmed last week that he is planning for Wimbledon and the Olympics to be the final events of his career.
Bolton hinted that the 37-year-old will join Fred Perry in having a statue somewhere in the grounds once his playing career is over, but that may not be outside Centre Court.
‘You could argue that’s a bit of an obvious location,’ she said. ‘As we reflect on the shape of these grounds and we think about the potential development over the road, we’ve got time to think about where any kind of physical celebration of Andy’s career might be.
‘And, in any event, we’d want to work with Andy on that and he understandably is not ready to have those conversations just yet. We will make sure we get this right because this is for all time.’
On Thursday, Murray rated it unlikely that he would be able to play singles, with an appearance in doubles alongside his brother Jamie more probable, but he gave a more upbeat assessment at a press conference yesterday.
Tennis fan Catherine, from Belgium, was first in the queue today to see Murray play, and has been there since 10am on Saturday.
‘I’ll be very happy and sad at the same time, because I know it’s probably going to be the last time,’ she said.
The 33-year-old said she has been a fan of Murray for the last 20 years. ‘I’ve been a fan for a long, long time – since he started really. So I really like him, like his playing style. The way he behaves on court was really appealing because I was quite similar myself.’
Scottish mother and daughter Christine Small, 63, from Peterhead, and Lorna Kennedy, 40, from Dundee, have been queuing to see Murray since 9am on Sunday.
‘He feels like one of our own,’ Ms Small said. ‘He’s done so well and he’s just been so good for the sport.
Ms Kennedy said seeing him will be ’emotional’.
‘I don’t actually care if he just walks out and plays two games and says ‘I’m done’, I’ve been able to cheer him one last time on Centre Court and that would be enough,’ she said.
She said she and her mother feel they understand Murray because he is Scottish.
‘We’re Scottish, so we get him,’ she said. ‘He’s really dry, he’s really funny, but he’s also an advocate for women’s tennis.’
She added he is a ‘good role model’.
Sarah Gilchrist, 37, and Sarah Gill, 38, from Coleraine, Northern Ireland, have been queuing since 5pm on Sunday.
Ms Gilchrist said she is not sure if Murray will really retire.
‘We’ve heard this before, so we’ll have to wait and see it to believe it,’ she said. ‘He said this before, a few years ago at the Australian Open. But I think it could be his time this year to hang up his racket.’