"I know I was on the verge of never playing tennis again" - Murray aware of how close to retirement he was
ATP
Andy Murray is not considering retiring from professional tennis. He feels that he still has the sufficient level to compete.
This year, Murray has stated several times that he only plays tennis because he is still competitive. He managed to prove his level multiple times, and continues to do so also at the ATP 500 event in Basel.
He spoke about his possible retirement also at the 2022 Swiss Indoors in Basel, where he beat Roman Safiullin in the first match. The 2022 season is a success in his eyes. That's mostly because he managed to avoid any major injuries.
"I think that this season it has been positive because I have been able to play almost without injuries. It made me very angry to have an abdominal problem just before Wimbledon and I know that I am still at a good level."
At the same time, Murray is aware that he wasn't too far from never playing the sport again. However, now that he's on the courts again, he knows he can be competitive.
"Look, I know I was on the verge of never playing tennis again, but when I started to get into a rhythm I realised that it was possible. I have to be very careful with the way and the time of training."
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Murray beat the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Matteo Berrettini, and Nick Kyrgios, which were important wins for him, as they showed him how competitive he still is.
"I have beaten very good players in recent times, such as Alcaraz, Hurkacz, Berrettini, Tsitsipas or Kyrgios. When that happens it's because you have what it takes to be up, but I need to be more consistent, I would have liked my tennis to be better this year."
"My main objective right now is to improve my ranking to be the top seed and not have to face great tennis players from the first round. This week at the ATP 500 Basel is very important to me because it can improve my ranking."
