Three Grand Slam titles, one year-end finals champion, two Olympic singles gold medals, and a former world No. 1.
1. A total prize of 64.34 million US dollars, a recipient of the Order of the British Empire, and a knight ...... by the QueenThis is Murray's past achievement.
He is nearly 37 years old, has a metal hip replacement, has 16 wins and 21 losses since last year, has 13 rounds of 21 tournaments, has never reached the third round of a Grand Slam since 2017, and has been called out by fans many times to retire ......That's Murray's current situation.
Murray is still holding on, what is the meaning?
Amid the surging of doubts, BBC tennis correspondent Keleline Idsane asked the question in her commentary, "Under what circumstances will continuing to fight tarnish the hero's legacy?" ”
Idsane's question expresses the uneasiness that has been buried in the hearts of many people - if he continues to fight like this, Murray's face and achievements will be lost.
The question stung Murray deeply.
Defiling my legacy? Murray responded, "Most people would give up in my current situation, but I'm not the majority, and I think differently." I'm not going to give up, I'm going to keep fighting, keep working hard and play as well as I can. ”
As early as the 2019 Australian Open, Murray, who was "forced to retire", personally revealed his retirement plan. Murray's documentary, "Resurfacing," chronicles his physical and psychological suffering, and everything suggests that he will never come back.
After the Australian Open that year, Murray underwent a second hip operation, in which a metal hip joint was inserted into his body.
After a six-month break, Murray made his comeback at the Cincinnati Masters in August 2019. Two months later, he broke a 31-month title drought at ATP 250 Antwerp for his 46th title to date.
Winning the championship does not mean that he will be rejuvenated, and it does not mean that he can return to the top of his state and position.
Everyone, including Murray himself, is convinced that he will only play worse and worse, lose more and more, and even unceremoniously say that he will lose more and more embarrassingly.
It is the choice of most people to turn around and leave before they fall, in order to save face for themselves, leave a majestic back for the fans, and say a decent goodbye to everyone.
As much as Murray doesn't think so, he can't stop reporters from thinking so, and he can't stop being questioned again and again.
At the press conference after the first-round exit at this year's Australian Open, there were four or five questions around whether and when he would consider retiring. Journalists are looking for news clues and hot spots from Murray, and it's understandable. But have they ever wondered if it would be rude, or even a public offense, to ask such repeated questions?
In the face of reporters' questions, Murray's mixed doubles silver medal partner Robson at the London Olympics was also very disgusted. The former pro, who is currently working as a commentator for Eurosport, understands Murray's state of mind at the moment: "I think when the time comes, when Murray feels that life on the tennis court has come to an end, he will let us know. But until then, I see no reason to continue the conversation. ”
In addition to Robson standing up for Murray, former world No. 1 Roddick also expressed his support for Murray, leaving a message under Murray's post (the predecessor of Twitter) saying that it is hard to imagine outsiders pointing fingers at a legendary icon and telling him what to do and what not to do. Roddick pointed out that the article published by Idesane was "very stupid and absurd, no one can take away the legacy of the hero, and the great achievements will live on forever." ”
So far, Murray's post in response to Idsane has received 70,000 likes, and there are 380,000 comments, the vast majority of which expressed support and appreciation for Murray.
On second thought, I think the outrage at Idesane is not just because Murray is a legend who has achieved great things, but also because the BBC journalist has clearly mistaken that the motivation for the effort is not entirely about the end result.
Although winning is a reward for hard work, winning is not the ultimate goal of our efforts. No one can control the future, what we can do is to listen to our hearts, work towards our goals, and experience and enjoy the process.
We're all in the majority, but Murray isn't, he's on a path that few people have traveled.
The road less traveled, thorny and challenging. It is on this path that we can find our true selves, discover unprecedented landscapes, and have a richer life. (*Tennis Home Author: Yun Cirrus Yunshu).