Andy Murray joins Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in 500 club, admits 'I don't have too long left'

ByBen Snowball

Updated 26/02/2024 at 22:22 GMT

It's 500 hard-court wins for Andy Murray after a trademark gutsy display saw him recover from a set down to see off Denis Shapovalov at the Dubai Tennis Championships. He joins Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andre Agassi and Rafael Nadal in reaching the landmark. Murray has suffered a string of disappointing defeats in recent weeks, leading to inevitable questions about his future in the sport.

Andy Murray chalked up a 500th hard-court win in Dubai to join an exclusive club containing greats Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andre Agassi and Rafael Nadal – then sparked more speculation over his future by suggesting he only has a "few months" left of his career.

Fresh from a chastening defeat to 18-year-old Jakub Mensik in the Qatar Open last week, Murray produced a superb comeback to beat Denis Shapovalov 4-6 7-6(5) 6-3 on Monday.

It was Murray's biggest result of the season – albeit a season that has yielded just two wins from six tournaments.

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Such a poor return has prompted repeated questions about retirement, with Murray's post-match comments doing little to dampen speculation this could be his last year on tour.

"I probably don't have too long left but I'll do as best as I can these last few months," he said.

"I still love competing and still love the game but it gets harder and harder to compete the older you get, to keep your body fit and fresh," he said.

'I probably don't have too long left' - Murray drops retirement hint after Dubai win

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Asked about joining the exclusive 500 club with old rivals Federer, Djokovic and Nadal, Murray added: "It’s not bad!

"Hard courts have been a great surface for me over the years. 500 is a lot of matches. I’m very proud of that, obviously the list that you’ve given me, there’s not many players who have done that, so great to get to 500 before I’m done."

Murray fell behind after surrendering his serve to Shapovalov in the ninth game of the first set, but steadied to take the second via a tie-break – drawing level after hanging tough in a pulsating set point.

He broke immediately at the start of the third set, and again at 5-3, as he became the fifth man to rack up 500 hard-court wins.

Federer leads the way with 783 hard-court victories, ahead of Djokovic (700), Agassi (592) and Nadal (518).

Murray will face a Frenchman in the last 16, either Gael Monfils or fifth seed Ugo Humbert. Daniil Medvedev is the top seed in Dubai.

Meanwhile, former Wimbledon semi-finalist Shapovalov is languishing at No. 120 in the ATP rankings, 53 places below Murray, after a long injury lay-off.

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