Broadcaster reveals ‘chilling’ Andy Murray story from Paris Masters
Tennis broadcaster Alize Lim has revealed she experienced a āchillingā indication of the heartbreak Andy Murray is currently experiencing while working the Paris Masters.
Murray somehow managed to lose to Alex De Minaur in the first round despite being a double break up in the deciding set and twice serving for the match.
He smashed his racket on the court following the post-match handshake and in the press he openly admitted to growing concerns over his future within the ATP, but Lim says his frustrations went even further than that on the day.
Speaking to Eurosport, Lim said: āThere is an image that struck me a little and chilled me ā it was Andy Murray who broke his racket after the match point against Alex De Minaur.
āI was in the mixed zone, ready to do the interview of the winner at that moment, and I saw him pass and there, truly, his disappointment pierced my heart.
āI heard him break his rackets, behind, in the parking lot. And it really showed his motivation and how important it is to him.ā
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What has Andy Murray said about his future?
Since his hip surgery in 2019, Murray has always maintained he was happy just to be playing tennis regardless of his results.
After his defeat to De Minaur, though, for the first time he suggested that maybe the joy is starting to ebb away.
āI donāt feel like I played particularly well today and Iām still in a three-set match with a guy ranked 13 in the world,āĀ Murray said. āItās frustrating. Iām not really enjoying it just now I would say just in terms of how I feel on the court and how Iām playing.ā
āThe last five, six months havenāt been that enjoyable, which doesnāt help things, so I need to try and find some of that enjoyment back because playing a match like that thereās not really much positivity there.
āWhen I play a good point, Iām not really getting behind myself and then in the important moments, that will to win and fight that has always been quite a big, big part of my game. Like I said, what happened today, I donāt remember it happening before, but itās very, very rare. Those sorts of situations happen quite a lot this year, and thatās not really me. Itās not enjoyable.ā
Crucially, though, he didnāt reveal any plans to hang up his racket this off-season. In fact, he looked more determined to redouble his efforts.
āSometimes you play really well in practice and it doesnāt necessarily translate onto the match court, but you at least feel like youāre getting somewhere,ā he said. āWhereas for the most part in practice itās not been great.
āA lot of frustration there in training, and thatās kind of carrying over into the matches.
āIf I want to keep going, Iām going to need a lot of work. Itās not just going to be like one or two weeks of training to get me to where I need to get to, itās going to have to be a lot of work and consistent work to give myself a chance.ā
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