‘Tarnishing my legacy? Do me a favour’: Andy Murray fires back after winless start to 2024, says ‘I won’t quit’

Former world number one Andy Murray faced another early exit from the ATP event in Montpellier as Benoit Paire defeated him in the first round on Monday.

Paire staged a comeback to secure a 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3 victory over the British tennis star. Having expressed thoughts of retirement earlier this month following a series of disappointing performances – including a comprehensive defeat in the first round of the Australian Open – Murray’s struggles continue. Murray had lost in straight sets to Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the year’s first Grand Slam tournament. In fact, he has won only one of his last eight matches and has fallen to 49th place in the world rankings.

In the Open Sud de France, Murray had shown promise by comfortably winning the first set, but Paire fought back to force a decider, ultimately clinching the match despite Murray’s valiant effort to save four match points.

The first-round loss has sparked speculations over his retirement again, but Andy Murray seemed significantly upset when a BBC Scotland piece hinted that the British tennis star’s legacy was at risk with such continual losses.

“Tarnishing my legacy? Do me a favour,” Murray wrote on X, quote-tweeting BBC reporter Kheredine Idessane’s post. “I’m in a terrible moment right now I’ll give you that. Most people would quit and give up in my situation right now. But I’m not most people and my mind works differently. I won’t quit. I will keep fighting and working to produce the performances I know I’m capable of.”

That Murray is in a ‘terrible moment’ is no overstatement; the British tennis star is on the worst run of his career with five successive losses. Moreover, the win over the two-time Wimbledon champion was Paire’s first in the ATP circuit since August 2022.

Andy Murray, a three-time major champion, has not disclosed specific timelines for his retirement plans but has hinted that this season could be his last if he stops enjoying the sport. He has previously expressed his desire to make another deep run at a major tournament and is believed to be targeting qualification for the Olympics in Paris this summer.