Tennis news - Andy Murray set to retire: I hope he gets his Wimbledon goodbye, says Boris Becker

Murray said in an emotional press conference on Friday that Melbourne could be the scene of his last tournament as a professional.

The former world number one was on the verge of breaking down as he entered the press room and, asked how his hip was feeling, managed to say “not great” before being overcome by his emotions and having to leave the room.

He returned after several minutes to deliver his devastating news, and Eurosport's tennis expert Becker said the Scot's display in a warm-up match with Novak Djokovic led to him having concerns over his future in the sport.

"Yes, I was shocked when I heard the news today that Andy Murray retires at Wimbledon, at the latest," the six-time Grand Slam winner told Eurosport.

"One of the greatest, three-time Grand Slam winner, two Olympic gold medals, world number one in 2016 and just a fine guy, a fine sportsman over the years but he never really recovered after his hip surgery 18 months ago. I thought last summer, during the grass court season that he was better, he played well during Queen’s but unfortunately didn’t play Wimbledon.

"He started to come back slowly, had a third round at the US Open but didn’t play much in the fall.

"I was really hoping he would return strong at his beloved Australian Open, reached the final here five times but he lost in the second round in Brisbane and then had a practice session with Novak Djokovic and stopped that match at 6-1, 4-1 and I thought ‘why would he stop the match at 4-1? Why would he do a practice match anyway?’"

Murray will contest his first-round match against Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut on Monday but that may prove to be the final match of his illustrious career.

While the two-time Wimbledon champion hopes to make it to SW19 in the summer, he acknowledged that might not be possible - but Becker has offered his support, and hopes he is given the perfect send-off.

Becker added: "Unfortunately, today, he could barely speak, he had strong emotions obviously announcing his retirement by Wimbledon, if he’s going to make it.

"He is apparently in so much pain that he can’t put on his socks or his shoes and he’s really struggling with his every day walks. I hope, for him, he survives the Australian Open and he survives until Wimbledon where he gets his proper goodbye in his beloved London."