15 January 2024 , 14:38
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Tim Henman has admitted Andy Murray's abrupt exit from the Australian Open was "a painful watch" after the Brit crashed out in the first round against Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
Murray suffered a 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 defeat to the Argentine on Monday to end his dream of winning the Australian Open for the first time in his career. It was a disappointing performance from the 33-year-old, who is now considering whether to retire from the sport altogether. Speaking after losing against Etcheverry, Murray said: "There's definitely a possibility that it's the last time I play here (in Melbourne)."
It's the first time Murray has lost in the first round of the Australian Open since 2019, having previously reached the final of the tournament five times. Former tennis star Henman watched Murray's defeat and analysed his display afterwards, claiming he looked "lost on and off the court".
Eurosport analyst Henman said: "I think it was a painful watch, and he looked lost on and off the court. To hear him in the press conference so down and with very little explanation.
"It's difficult when you’re 36 and you’ve achieved what he has, you want to see him enjoying himself on court and reaping the rewards of all the hard work he puts in on the practice court and in the gym and on the track. He needs to go away, analyse it with his team and his family and decide where he wants to go next."
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Murray has rebuilt his career since undergoing surgery on his hip and has spent the past few years inside the world's top 50 and has reached multiple ATP finals. However, it's unclear how long Murray's career will last, though he is not expected to stop playing just yet, with the 2024 Paris Olympics around the corner.
Andy Murray was beaten by Tomas Martin Etcheverry on Monday (Getty Images)"I have an idea of what I would probably like to finish playing," Murray added. "Yeah, so much of that depends on how you're playing. The time frame for that narrows when you play and have results like today.
"Look, I know that Tomas is a really, really good player. I'm aware of that. Even if I play well today, I can still lose the match. It's just the nature of the performance that makes you question things. I haven't gained in belief from today's match that at some stage.
"I'm going to start playing really well again or winning tournaments or getting to the latter stages of major events. "Last year was a slightly different story. Physically I held up well against two really good players. Yeah, very different situation sitting here. So the time frame narrows a little bit for me to, yeah, get to a level that I want to be at."