07 July 2023 , 18:53
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Gutted Andy Murray confessed he could have played his last Wimbledon after a heart-breaking defeat to Stefanos Tsitsipas.
And Cam Norrie and Liam Broady also crashed out, to leave Katie Boulter the last Brit standing in the singles.
Former champion Murray lost to the world No.5 in five sets over two days to go out in the second round for the second consecutive year at his home Grand Slam. He had made at least the third round in his previous 13 appearances.
Murray skipped the French Open to prepare for the grass court season and won two second-tier Challenger events. But the Scot, 36, has now lost seven out of eight ATP Tour-level matches stretching back to March.
The former world No.1, who is playing with a metal hip, said before his 15th Wimbledon he had not planned for it to be his last.
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But asked if he is confident he will be back next year, the world No.40 admitted: “I don't know. Yeah, motivation is obviously a big thing. Continuing having early losses in tournaments like this don't necessarily help with that.
“It's similar to I guess last year. I had a long think about things, spoke to my family and I decided to keep on going.
“I don't plan to stop right now. But, yeah, this one will take a little while to get over. Hopefully find the motivation again to keep training, keep pushing, try and keep getting better."
Murray was outmanoeuvred by Stefanos Tsitsipas, the No.5 seed (AFP via Getty Images)Murray had been seeking his best win in terms of ranking at a Grand Slam since beating world No.4 Stan Wawrinka at the 2016 French Open.
“I certainly could have beaten him today or yesterday,” he said. “I mean, there's only a few points in it today. Like, it's not just about winning the odd match against to players really. To have a run at these tournaments, you need multiple, multiple wins in a row. I've obviously not done that.”
He added: "I'm obviously very disappointed just now. Obviously 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's not gone how I would like, it's been hard."