LONDON – Three-time Grand Slam singles champion Andy Murray hit back at suggestions that he could “damage his legacy” if he continues his career, after the Scot suffered a third straight first-round exit to start the season.

The 36-year-old breathed new life into his career after undergoing hip-resurfacing surgery in 2019, but he has struggled to reach the latter stages of the top events. He has failed to go beyond the third round of a Grand Slam since reaching the Wimbledon quarter-finals in 2017.

After first-round exits at the Brisbane International and the Australian Open, Murray’s defeat by Frenchman Benoit Paire in Montpellier on Jan 30 prompted a BBC reporter to ask: “At what point does bravely soldiering on start to damage his legacy?”

The article also asked whether his “refusal to back down from a challenge” was doing him “more harm than good”.

“Tarnishing my legacy? Do me a favour. I’m in a terrible moment right now, I’ll give you that,” Murray, who has suffered nine defeats in 13 matches since the start of the US Open last August, responded on social media platform X.

“Most people would quit and give up in my situation right now. But I’m not most people and my mind works differently. I won’t quit. I will keep fighting and working to produce the performances I know I’m capable of.”

The Scot did say in Melbourne in January, following his first-round loss to Tomas Etcheverry, that there was a “definite possibility” that he had played in his last Australian Open.

“I know that Tomas is a really, really good player. I’m aware of that. Even if I play well today, I can still lose the match. But it’s just the nature of the performance that makes you question things,” the former world No. 1 and two-time Olympic champion said then.

“I haven’t gained in belief from today’s match that at some stage I’m going to start playing really well again or winning tournaments or getting to the latter stages of major events.”

That viewpoint has obviously changed now that Murray has had time to get over the defeat, but it remains to be seen what his plans are, especially at his age.

Meanwhile, former US Open champion Andy Roddick has backed him, as the American railed at the report and said nothing could detract from Murray’s achievements.

“Can’t take legacy away. Accomplishment lives forever,” he posted on X. REUTERS