sport news Andy Murray will focus on rising up the rankings following his Australian Open ... trends now
We live in an era where the terms Quiet Quitting and Work From Home have gained common currency in the language.
This is also, still, the era of Andy Murray in tennis. He stands out as someone who represents the complete opposite of those terms, and will continue to do so.
The 35 year-old Scot was heading home last night after a week that was fairly extraordinary, even by his standards. Before leaving he tweeted:’ ‘2 days ago I randomly bumped into the doctor who in 2017 told me “The good news is the problem you have in your hip can be fixed but you won’t be able to play professional sport again.” I think we dispelled that myth the last 5 days.’
Andy Murray will make improving his ranking the priority over the next few months
Murray thrives on having something, or someone, to push back against. Anyone suggesting that he could not become the first player to compete properly in singles with a metal hip, whether from the medical world or the media, is perfect fodder.
He has not quietly quit, and working from home is a modus operandi he barely recognises.
Even as the father of four children, with more wealth accumulated than he could ever spend, he remains intent on living the peripatetic life he chose, in order to squeeze every last drop from his career.
Murray played and prepared for nineteen tournaments last season that were far away from his London base. At the end of all that he took himself off to Florida for three weeks to work with Ivan Lendl.
Andy Murray is out of the Australian Open after losing to Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut
Bautista Agut overcame the 35-year-old in four sets, beating Murray 6-1 6-7 6-3 6-4
Immediately after Christmas he left for Australia, from where he is now returning, battered and weary.
Yet the travelling never stops, and the slacking never starts. In February he will play indoors in Rotterdam, and then head to Dubai, before flying across to Indian Wells in California, and then Miami.
Murray’s immediate priority is to get his ranking up to a position where he will be seeded for tournaments, and thereby avoid having to face the likes of Matteo Berrettini in the first round, as he did at this tournament.
The fact is that his ranking has only been marginally improved by the week’s gargantuan efforts, nudging up to 62.
The Spaniard beat him in three hours and 29 minutes and booked his place in the next round
Murray (right) will be ranked just outside the top 60 following this tournament and will certainly hope to be in the top 32 by Wimbledon
‘Obviously in the last few years some of the draws at the Slams have been very tricky,’ he said before leaving. ‘ I was quite clear that it was something I wanted to do last year to try and get into the seeded spots. It didn't quite happen.
‘If I was playing at this level last year, I probably wouldn't be ranked fifty or sixty in the world.’
The next few months represent an
