ANDY MURRAY has warned he may have played his last match at the Australian Open.
The five-time finalist was eliminated in the first round on Monday after a crushing straight sets defeat to Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
RexAndy Murray has warned he may have played his last Australian Open match[/caption]
30th seed Etcheverry dispatched Murray 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 to set up a second round clash with Gael Monfils.
The loss also dashed Murray’s hopes of a potential third round showdown with Novak Djokovic.
Following his first opening round exit since 2019, the 36-year-old hinted he may retire before next year’s Australian Open.
As he left the court, he waved an emotional goodbye to the crowd inside the Show Court Arena at Melbourne Park.
Speaking afterwards, Murray explained: “It’s a definite possibility that will be the last time I play here.
“In comparison to the matches that I played here last year, it’s the complete opposite feeling walking off the court.”
As for a retirement date, he continued: “I have an idea of when I would probably like to finish, so much of that depends on how you’re playing.
“The time frame for that narrows when you play and have results like today.”
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Murray has reached the final of the Australian Open five times during his career, most recently in 2016.
A former world number one, the two-time Grand Slam champion went into the tournament 44th in the world.
Elsewhere, Djokovic overcame Croatia’s Dino Prizmic in four sets in a heated encounter.
The number one seed and defending champion produced an X-rated outburst during the win after clashing with the crowd.