In the long-term monopoly of the Fernard trio of Grand Slam champions for more than a decade, the emergence of one person once made the expression of the "Big Four of Tennis" more known to the public. Andy Murray, a name that was once familiar, now has a slight sense of age attached to the first mention, as if it is a famous person who has faded from the audience's sight for a long time.
However, Murray, 34 years old, with only one healthy hip joint, with a ranking of 150 miles away, is still fighting on the field and moving towards the goal of the world's top ten.
"Why did I stop there? Let me retire, please give me a valid reason. Even with a normal hip, I can still compete with the best players in the world. When asked if there were any plans to retire, "Sir Ray", who has always been frank and frank, replied.
Murray's quick talk is not bottomless. The title of the first ever men's singles Olympic gold medalist to be defended, even Fernard is difficult to match. The Grand Slam has twice snatched food from Djokovic's hands, snatching three Grand Slam titles... As a contender for the Grand Slam with the Big Three, Murray's achievements are enough to make the new generation of players led by the "Four Little Kings" look sideways.
But the media pessimism about Murray's career is also reasonable. As the connection point between the body and the legs, the hip joint controls the normal activity of the lower body, and once injured, it is a serious loss of the athlete's professional life. Back in 2017, a hip injury plagued Murray, who was preparing to defend Wimbledon, and eventually forced him to reimburse the season.
Conservative treatments were less effective than expected, with Murray only competing in six tournaments in the 2018 season and leaving early in the second round of the US Open. At the 2019 Australian Open press conference, he told the outside world that he would retire after Wimbledon. He only participated in one Grand Slam in Melbourne, and was eliminated by Agut in the first round. In Antwerp in the autumn, he will win his only trophy since 2019 to the present, after beating Wawrinka in three sets.
The fierce battle with Tsitsipas in the first round of the US Open this season has released many optimistic signals. Purely in terms of the state of that game, although there is still a gap between the strength of the grand slam competition, returning to the top ten of the world is not a castle in the air for him. With a first-round victory over the world's tenth Hulkach in Vienna, Murray scored his first win against the Top10 of the season and ended his embarrassing record of facing a nine-game losing streak in the Top20.
Whether Murray can get what he wants, as long as he is still running on the field, it is the greatest comfort for the fans.