Two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray on Wednesday said that he is likely to retire from tennis before the season is over.
“I’m likely not going to play past this summer,” 36-year-old Murray said after losing 6-2, 6-4 to fifth seed Ugo Humbert at the Dubai Championships.
After rallying past Denis Shapovalov in three sets on Monday for his 500th hard-court win, Murray hinted he was heading into the “last few months” of his career.
Photo: Reuters
He expanded a bit on those plans after losing to Humbert, although he stopped short of setting a firm timeline.
“I get asked about it after every single match that I play, every single tournament that I play. I’m bored of the question, to be honest,” Murray said. “I’m not going to talk more about that between now and whenever the time comes for me to stop, but, yes, I don’t plan on playing much past this summer.”
Humbert did not face a break point before converting his first match point to reach the quarter-finals and secure his first career win over Murray, who lifted the trophy in Dubai in 2017.
Murray, the 2012 and 2016 Olympic champion, earlier on Wednesday told BBC Radio that he wants to play at the Paris Olympic Games, which run from July 26 to Aug. 11.
“Hopefully, I can get the chance to compete at another [Olympics],” said Murray, who also won the US Open in 2012.
Top seed Daniil Medvedev recovered from a set down to overcome Lorenzo Sonego 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals.
Medvedev opened his title defense on Tuesday by beating Alexander Shevchenko 6-3, 7-5 in his first match since losing the Australian Open final to Jannik Sinner.
Medvedev next faces eighth seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who advanced after Jakub Mensik retired with an injury. Davidovich Fokina led 7-6 (7), 1-0 when Mensik pulled out.
Jiri Lehecka saved five match points before rallying to beat fourth seed Karen Khachanov 6-7 (6/8), 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 and Sebastian Korda cruised past Botic van de Zandschulp 6-1, 6-0.
Lehecka next faces seventh seed Alexander Bublik, who progressed with a 7-6 (10/8), 7-6 (7/2) win over Tallon Griekspoor.
Korda is to play second seed Andrey Rublev, the 2022 champion. Rublev advanced to the quarter-finals for the fifth straight time after eliminating Arthur Cazaux 6-4, 6-4.
Third seed Hubert Hurkacz advanced with a 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 win over Christopher O’Connell, and he gets Humbert next.
Yu Yao-hsing on Tuesday nabbed Taiwan’s only goal in the final round of qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, as they fell 3-1 to Sri Lanka at Taipei Municipal Stadium. Early goals from Sri Lanka in the first half left Taiwan struggling to get on the board, and Christopher Tiao’s own goal at 53 minutes sealed the team’s fate in the third round of qualifiers. While acknowledging that the defeat, Taiwan’s sixth in Group D, was disappointing, head coach Matt Ross said he saw reasons to stay positive about the team’s development. “There were lots of positive signs in terms of the
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli yesterday vowed to “keep raising the bar” after winning the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the championship standings. The 19-year-old Italian took advantage of a mid-race safety car to jump into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position, crossing the line ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli’s Suzuka victory came two weeks after the first grand prix win of his career in China, and sent him top of the championship standings after three races, nine points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes are struggling to
INDIGESTION: Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for a third consecutive time after a 4-1 defeat to Bosnia on penalties in a loss Gattuso said was ‘difficult to digest’ Coach Graham Arnold on Tuesday challenged his players to “shock the world” after Iraq became the 48th and final team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup with a nerve-shredding 2-1 win over Bolivia in an intercontinental playoff in Mexico, as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Sweden and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) also secured their places at the finals. Iraq, whose preparations were disrupted by the war in the Middle East, sealed their first appearance at the finals in 40 years and are to play in Group I against France, Senegal and Norway. Goals from Ali al-Hamadi
Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season, took his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut. Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the Astros trailing 5-0. He pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as Houston scored 11 runs during his outing to snatch an 11-9 comeback victory. The win is the Astros’ first of the season and the third of Teng’s MLB career. “It’s my first time pitching for the Astros, so
RSS