Andy Roddick has been giving his verdict on what’s being said about Andy Murray at the moment.
The American, who enjoyed a long and successful 12-year singles career, has recently started up a podcast to offer his view on the latest news emerging out of tennis.
And naturally, one of the outstanding ones is the potential that this could be the Scotsman’s final year on the tour.
But what was it about Murray that had Roddick so incensed? We take a closer look…
What Andy Roddick said about Andy Murray
As two stars who shared the court no less than 11 times, there is likely a great mutual respect between the two.
So, it must have been rough for Roddick to see Murray’s emotional Australian Open interview last month, in which he admitted that his first-round exit might have been his last showing at Melbourne.
It was hardly a surprising revelation, given all that the 36-year-old has gone through just to keep playing, but an emotional one nevertheless.
Yet, it has since been undercut by the words of one journalist, effectively imploring the two-time Wimbledon champion to call time on his career.
Whilst Murray himself was furious, Roddick was equally angered by this, telling the Served with Andy Roddick podcast: ‘Did you see the Murray thing this week where a journalist was just talking out loud, and the thing that really p***** me off was is it time for Andy Murray to retire?
‘Okay, I think that is a little bit of a tacky question in the first place but is what he is doing now tarnishing his legacy. As if what he does in Montpellier takes away Wimbledon titles, US Open titles.
‘It’s amazing how it was like ‘Oh Gosh all we want is this drought from the 20’s to end’. And then six years later it’s like ‘not if you lose in the first round of Montpellier’. Am I overreacting to this? It’s so stupid!’
People need to lay off Andy Murray
Given his recent injury struggles and how his career has waned in recent years, it might be easy for some to forget just how good Murray was in his prime.
He is one of the sport’s legendary figures, particularly of this generation, which was littered with three of the greatest-ever men’s players.
And yet, he still competed, albeit being regularly thwarted by Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Whilst most people would quit in the face of such adversity, he just kept going, and in the end was rewarded with three grand slam titles for his troubles as well as two Olympic Gold medals.
He has enjoyed a career that many would dream of, and yet now he is being told when he needs to call time on it. The fact he is playing alone is a miracle given his ongoing hip ailment.
Nobody can make the final decision but him.
Whilst results have been tough, if he is still enjoying playing then there is literally no harm in him continuing. He’s not harming anyone, and remains a big draw despite that run of form.
Murray has earned the right to a little privacy when it comes to this decision, and those lobbying for his retirement should be ashamed. The tennis world will miss him when he’s gone.
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