Make no mistake, Andy Roddick is a huge fan of Andy Murray and once again he’s been raving about the Great Britain hero.
Last night, Murray waved a fond farewell to Miami as he bowed out of the Miami Open at the hands of Tomas Machac in three sets.
He was beaten 7-5, 5-7, 6-7 and it looks like being the last time that the Miami faithful will get to see Murray in action.
The 36-year-old has a metal hip, a dodgy knee and wears heavy strapping on his ankles these days. He will retire at some point this year but as his mum, Judy Murray has alluded to that should come on his terms.
After his latest defeat, Roddick has claimed that Murray is doing something that he never could. Once again, the American has lauded the man who will go down as one of Great Britain’s best ever sports stars when he does call it quits.
Andy Roddick says Andy Murray is doing something that he wouldn’t have been able to
Murray clearly loves the game of tennis. Given that he’s won three Grand Slam titles and a host of ATP events, there is no real need for the star to be continuing.
Naturally, he will want to bow out on his terms, however, and Wimbledon will surely be earmarked in his own heart as the final time he steps on a tennis court.
After last night’s defeat, Roddick explained that Murray is doing something right now that he wouldn’t have been able to do when he was coming to the end of his career.
He told the Tennis Channel: “Yeah, listen since 2019 with the hip issue, he would tell you that he hasn’t been the same but the guts of him have been the same.
“Even if he used to take these matches and pull them out lately he hasn’t been able to but the drama is still there, the fight is still there and in a weird way this compromised version of Murray kind of adds to his legacy.
“The way that he’s ground out the last four or five years, I certainly respect it – I don’t know if I could have done it and I don’t know if a lot of us could have done it so props to him if it is the last time we see him in Miami, a hell of a run, pal!”
Murray can bow out with his head held high
In some ways, Murray and Roddick aren’t too dissimilar. When the American was in his pomp he was renowned for having a lot of heart and he often needed scraping off the court.
Murray is proving in the latter stages of his career that he has similar traits to the American player. He shows a lot of heart these days, even if his body isn’t what it used to be.
In our view, the Great Britain star has nothing left to prove. It’s quite tedious that he gets asked the same stuff at every tournament and the media should simply let him get on with finishing his career however he chooses fit.
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