Andy Murray will take his decision on playing a final Wimbledon singles down to the wire today as the All England Club boss predicted “tears around the house” when the Scot does say goodbye to Centre Court.
The Scot, 37, won a set against his fellow former British No.1 Kyle Edmund on the practice courts at Aorangi Park yesterday. And the double champion has been scheduled to play in his traditional prime time slot of the third match on Centre Court today.
But Murray has yet to confirm he will take on world No.38 Tomas Machac – and will wait to see how he feels this morning before playing potentially the final, emotional singles match of his career.
The three-time Grand Slam beat Edmund 6-3 2-0 yesterday – and then ended his 90-minute training session by hitting with his coach Jonny O’Mara
His forehand and his serve looked good but he struggled to reach shots deep into this backhand.
“It was alright, yeah,” reported Murray. “It was good. I am going to have a chat with my team now and speak to my family this evening and then make a decision.
“It is getting better. And the testing and stuff I have done is good. I just need to decide whether it is enough to compete really.”
Murray, 37, limped out of Queen’s Club after only 23 minutes of his second round match suffering “neural pain” in his back and the loss of power and coordination in his right leg. He underwent surgery to remove a spinal cyst on Saturday June 23.
In his pre-tournament press conference on Sunday, Murray said he wanted to feel “the buzz” of Wimbledon a final time and get “a bit of closure”. But he warned: “I don’t want to be in a situation like at Queen’s. I don’t want to go on the court and it to be awkward or not be able to at least be competitive.”
His late withdrawal would cause the All England Club to re-jig the schedule and move another match – probably British No.1 Jack Draper – into his slot.
“The schedule is always up for amendment,” said All England Club chief executive Sally Bolton. “The fans will be absolutely desperate to see him play. We will wish him well on getting on court.”
Bolton added: “The first-round doubles we can schedule any time between Wednesday and Friday. Once he decides to retire and we all get the chance to celebrate him, I think you’ll really see how much he has meant to not just tennis-loving public but actually sports-loving public in the UK.
“It feels like there’s lots of pent-up emotion around that that I think will come out when he finally decides to do that. I think there will be tears around the house generally speaking. I can’t speak for Andy but for some of the rest of us around the court, I’m sure they’ll be a few tears in the eyes.”
World No.38 Machac has already beaten Murray twice this year, including at the Miami Open in March when Murray finished the match despite rupturing ankle ligaments.
“He hurt his ankle – and still played like he hadn’t!” said the Czech. “It was a real battle. So hopefully he will be alright. He’s a great fighter so I think if he steps on the court he will be 100 per cent ready to play a whole match.
“You need to win three sets so if he is not ready he will not play. But if he is standing on the court he will go for the win.”
But Machac is ready to be “ruthless” and play the pantomime villain on Centre Court. “It will be tough to play against the whole crowd, but it will be a good experience for me,” he said. “I think I can handle it.”
Content Source: www.express.co.uk