Andy Murray appeared deflated following his first-round defeat at the Australian Open in Melbourne on Monday. The two-time Wimbledon champion had lost 6-4 6-2 6-2 by 30th seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
Hinting that this may have been his final Australian Open tournament, Andy said in a press conference: "It's a definite possibility that will be the last time I play here. I think probably because of how the match went and everything.
© Getty"While you're playing the match, you're obviously trying to control your emotions, focus on the points and everything. When you're one point away from the end, you're like, 'I can't believe this is over so quickly, and like this.'"
He added: "In comparison to the matches that I played here last year, it's the complete opposite feeling walking off the court. I wish I involved the crowd more. Just disappointed with the way I played and all of that stuff. (It's a) tough, tough way to finish."
Andy is one of the most successful British sports stars of all time, becoming the first British male tennis champion since the 1930s. He won Wimbledon for the first time in 2013 before repeating his success in the 2016 tournament.
© Getty"Last year was a slightly different story," he added. "Physically I held up well against two really good players. Very different situation sitting here. So the time frame narrows a little bit for me to get to a level that I want to be at.
"It was a poor performance. It was very, very flat. It was an amazing crowd. I felt like they were trying to pick me up, support and get behind me. Usually I would always engage the crowd and get them going and bring some energy."
The 36-year-old later told Eurosport's Laura Robson about how much he struggled. "[At] times in the last year, I really, really struggled and I haven't really enjoyed it that much," he confessed. "I still feel like I can play good tennis, but it's not happening when I go out there on the match court and that's where it matters, not in practice."
Andy, a five-time finalist at the Australian Open and a three-time grand slam winner, recently opened up about plans to retire, saying: "I haven't made any definite decisions on that. Yeah, it's obviously something that I need to think about and see exactly when that is."
He continued: "I have spoken to my team about it. I've spoken to my family about it multiple times. It's not like it hasn't been something that's been on my mind."
