Andy Murray in crushing Wimbledon reaction amid career questions

Andy Murray is no stranger to the fact that tennis can be a game of fine margins at times - as he found out in his second round Wimbledon loss to Stefanos Tsitsipas. In a five-set epic typical of Murray's absolute refusal to go down without a fight, the Scottish star was eventually outlasted 7-6, 6-7, 4-6, 7-6, 6-4.

It was a key moment in the fourth set however, that could potentially have been decisive. With the set delicately poised at 4-4 on Tsitsipas' serve and Murray holding a 15-30 advantage, his cross-court backhand beat the Greek star - but was called out.

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Despite a glance at his box, Murray opted not to challenge the point - but subsequent replays showed doing so would have been successful. While no guarantee he'd have won the game, two break points instead of a 30-30 stalemate is undoubtedly a better outcome.

Already somewhat frustrated having once again failed to progress beyond the second round of a grand slam for the first time since 2017, when a reporter pointed out they key moment in the match, Murray was left even further in despair. Having made an incredible and unlikely comeback from two hip surgeries that threatened to end his career, Murray was once again denied the chance for a Wimbledon swansong.

Seemingly shocked that the unchallenged point should have gone in his favour, Murray visibly slumped as the weight of the moment set in. A clear path to victory would have emerged should he have won the point, given he could have served for the fourth set and the game if he had won.

Instead, the 36-year-old was left to ruminate on his tennis future, admitting later in the press conference that he couldn't be sure if he would return to the All-England club in 2024. He said it would ultimately be a question of his motivation in the coming months.

“I don’t know,” Murray said of his 2024 prospects. “Motivation is obviously a big thing.

"Continuing having early losses in tournaments like this don’t necessarily help with that. I don’t plan to stop right now.

"But this one will take a little while to get over. Hopefully I will find the motivation again to keep training, keep pushing, try and keep getting better.”

Andy Murray's Wimbledon anniversary ends in disappointment

It was a hugely disappointing way for Murray to mark the 10th anniversary of his career-defining first Wimbledon title, and he is all too aware his chances for another deep run here are ebbing away. The match began under the roof on Thursday but there were blue skies above on the hottest day of the tournament as Murray returned two sets to one up.

Murray had clearly been eager to avoid the lottery of another tie-break and, in a repeat of the first-set shoot-out, it was Tsitsipas who won the final four points. Murray's strategy to relentlessly probe the Greek's backhand was perhaps becoming a little predictable, and he was in serious trouble when Tsitsipas created three break points in the third game of the deciding set, taking the third to break serve for the first time.

The home favourite saved two match points but Tsitsipas clinched it on his third chance with his 17th ace to book a third-round clash with Laslo Djere. There was more disappointment for local fans when last year's semi-finalist Cameron Norrie also got knocked out, beaten 6-3 3-6 6-2 7-6 (7-3) by American Christopher Eubanks.

Liam Broady was the only British man to make the third round but his singles campaign ended 90 minutes after Norrie's with a 4-6 6-2 7-5 7-5 loss to Denis Shapovalov. He took no comfort from going the furthest, saying: "It kind of makes it worse that we've all lost on the same day.

"Obviously I'd have preferred for us all to have won. Probably would have felt a bit better if we'd staggered what days we lost on, whereas now it's a bit of a Debbie Downer, isn't it?"

With AAP

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