Andy Murray 'looked lost' in defeat - Tim Henman and Laura Robson on 'painful to watch' Australian Open exit

Published 15/01/2024 at 11:22 GMT

It was certainly not the result - or the performance - that Andy Murray wanted to produce when he battled so hard over the off-season to get fit for the Australian Open, as he went down in straight sets to Argentina's Tomas Martin Etcheverry on Monday at Melbourne Park. Murray did not manage to get into a groove at all and was left to reflect on a "flat" display in his post-match media.

'He looked lost' - Henman and Robson discuss Murray's options moving forward

Andy Murray suffered a hugely disappointing first-round defeat at the Australian Open on Monday, and Eurosport's Tim Henman and Laura Robson have given their expert reactions.

The 36-year-old was outplayed by Tomas Martin Etcheverry on Kia Arena, with the 30th seed winning 6-4 6-2 6-2, despite the Brit having a strong support from the stands.

Murray was left very frustrated as a result of the defeat, and lamented his "flat" play in his post-match press conference, in which he admitted that "there is a definite possibility" that he has played in his last Australian Open match.

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For Eurosport experts Henman and Robson - both of whom are good friends with Murray - it was a tough match to watch with the former world No. 1 nowhere near his best against a pretty ruthless and athletic opponent.

"I think it was a painful watch, and he looked lost on and off the court," Henman said in the Eurosport Cube.

"To hear him in the press conference so down and with very little explanation, it’s difficult when you’re 36 and you’ve achieved what he has.

"You want to see him enjoying himself on court and reaping the rewards of all the hard work he puts in on the practice court and in the gym and on the track. He needs to go away, analyse it with his team and his family and decide where he wants to go next.

"For me, it’s a return on investment. When you understand how hard he’s working and all the professionalism around his diet and the sacrifices he’s making to be away from his family, he is as committed as anyone. So when he comes out at the beginning of a new season, fundamentally playing two matches in a month, he’s lost them both, and there is no return.

"When you’ve been world No. 1 and achieved everything that he has, that is not going to do him any favours mentally. It’s going to take time for him to assess this, and to hear someone at 36 who’s so experienced to not have any answers...he looked lost.

"I hope that he can find the next goal to try and work towards to see him play better on the match court, and hopefully, get some wins under his belt."

'He was just a bit flat today' - Robson and Henman react to Murray's loss

Robson agreed with Henman's assessment, adding: "It just wasn’t the Andy we were expecting to see.

"He couldn’t use the crowd the way that he usually does, and it was tough to see him post-match in the press conference room looking a little bit down and out.

"You know what kind of questions he’s going to be asked, which doesn’t help the feelings. I feel for him so much, I just want to give him a hug because he’s got so much more to give than what we saw today.

"I don’t feel like [his retirement] is anyone’s business because it’s such a personal decision, and listening to his press conference, there were four or five questions in a row where they just kept pushing a little bit and it’s not the way he would want to announce it if he did feel that way.

"I wouldn’t have wanted that myself, and when the time is right, and he feels like it’s time to call it a day on the court, then he’ll let us know, but until then, I just felt like there’s no reason to continue down that conversation. But honestly, I feel like he’s disappointed because he knows he can play better than that.

"That was the shame, that he didn’t use the crowd and he wasn’t enjoying himself on the court. When I see Andy play his best tennis, it’s when he’s using all that energy. But I think he’s going to have mental support every week because everyone’s thinking that maybe it is the last time.

"Hopefully he picks himself back up, because the tennis I saw him play in Brisbane was excellent."