Andy Murray questioned his start at the ATP event in Washington in 2019. The tournament director had annoyed the Scotsman last season.
Andy Murray is a guy who says what he thinks. But the two-time Wimbledon winner doesn’t make things sound as dramatic as others. This may be due to the fact that Murray has this sonorous voice, which never changes regardless of the external circumstances.
But the Scotsman who lives in London has this certain irony, which he also conveys very well in written form. During a question time via Instagram (“Q & A”) he answered the question whether he would also start at the 2019 tournament in Washington: “Probably not” … after the tournament director had – let’s say – washed his head.
What happened? Murray disliked comments by tournament boss Keely O’Brien last season. In the Washington Post, he had harshly criticised the 31-year-old’s thoughts of withdrawing from the Citi Open quarter-final against Alex de Minaur (Australian) for exhaustion.
“I hope Andy really takes this role into account in his sport and as a global role model for youngsters on tour and children around the world, that it’s not okay to just give up when things are hard and conditions aren’t good,” O’Brien had said.
You have to know: It was Murray’s third tournament appearance after his comeback following a break of several months due to a hip surgery in January 2018, and the 2012 US Open winner had needed three sets to progress in each of the three previous rounds.
In the round of 16 he was 6:7, 6:3, 7:6 against the Romanian Marius Copil even over three hours on the court and shed tears after the match. Sir Andy had previously been shaken by convulsions. The game ended shortly after three o’clock in the night. Murray then withdrew before the duel with de Minaur – despite the gentle pressure from O’Brien.
Murray wants to attack again in the new year. He finished the 2018 season with a record of 7:5 victories as 260th in the world rankings.