By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Friday July 7, 2023
Expectations were high, form was good, and the British public was rallying behind two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray.
All the ingredients were in place for the 36-year-old to make a run for the ages, as he took the court on Friday with a two sets to one lead over Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Then it all unraveled, with the talented Greek taking hold of part two of their riveting contest to book a hard-fought victory.
Like Sisyphus, Andy Murray has rolled the rock up the hill, only to have it roll back down. He has not reached the round of 16 at a major since 2017.
“Ultimately this was an opportunity for me,” Murray said after his loss. “I had a good chance of having a proper run for the first time in a long time at a slam. I didn't take it.”
"You never know what would have happened"
Never mind that the outcome might have been different if Wimbledon’s 11 PM curfew didn’t cause the pair to stop their match with the Brit leading two sets to one. That was the deal from the start, and both players knew it.
“You never know what would have happened,” Murray said, when asked. “The same result could have happened. We knew that we were only going to be able to play until 11:00. You're kind of playing to a time. It was unlikely if there was any split sets or anything that we were going to finish yesterday. We knew the situation going into the match. That's how it was.”
The next step is unclear
Murray was asked how confident he was in the fact that he would return to Wimbledon next year.
The 36-year-old clearly needs time to get over the sting of another heartbreaker, before he plots out his next steps.
“I don't know,” he said. “Motivation is obviously a big thing. Continuing having early losses in tournaments like this don't necessarily help with that. “It's similar to I guess last year. I had a long think about things, spoke to my family, decided to keep on going. I don't plan to stop right now. But, yeah, this one will take a little while to get over. Hopefully find the motivation again to keep training, keep pushing, try and keep getting better.”