Andy Murray "proud" of his ability to compete with a metal hip, says he wants to be remembered as a great fighter after he retires
Former World No. 1 Andy Murray has admitted he is "proud" of his ability to compete against the best players on the ATP tour despite playing with a metal hip. According to the Brit, very few players would be able to play at such a high level after suffering the injuries that he did.
Murray has spent a large chunk of the last few years battling hip issues. The Brit has undergone two hip surgeries so far but has still managed to successfully return to action.
Andy Murray: Lots of people said to me, ‘Stop mentioning it, stop talking about metal hip’. And I'm like, ‘Why? It's relevant’. The fact I'm able to still do this & compete with the best players in the world with a metal hip, I'm proud I'm able to do that eurosport.co.uk/tennis/mubadal…
In a recent interview with Eurosport, Murray revealed that he is constantly being asked not to bring up the topic of his metal hip. But the three-time Slam champion said he felt it was important to talk about the issue as it was "relevant" to his career.
Murray the warrior.
😢 Jan 11th 2019: announces he might retire from tennis
🏥 Jan 28th 2019: hip surgery
🎾 Aug 12th 2019: come back on courts in singles in Cincinnati
🏆 Oct 20th 2019: wins Antwerp tournament https://t.co/ssA3RUYwsz
“Lots of people said to me, ‘Stop mentioning it, stop talking about metal hip’. And I'm like, ‘Why? It's relevant’. The fact that I'm able to still do this, and compete with the best players in the world with a metal hip, I'm proud that I'm able to do that and I think there's very few people that would be able to compete (like that)," said Murray in the interview.
The 34-year-old said that people often hail him as an inspiration for his desire to keep going even when the odds are stacked against him. He further stressed that he wants to be remembered as a fighter once he hangs up his racket.
“I've had lots of people come up to me and say, ‘It's inspirational that you keep trying, you keep fighting and you keep going’, and I guess that's something that I would, probably when I finished playing, be remembered for," added the Briton.
Andy Murray says Muhammad Ali is a big source of inspiration for him
During the interview, Andy Murray revealed that the urge to silence his critics acts as motivation for him.
“I’ve always kind of felt that way. I like it when people say that there's something that I can’t do or something that I shouldn't do. That motivates me a lot,” said the three-time Grand Slam champion.
Murray drove home his point by using the example of boxing legend Muhammad Ali. The Brit remarked that everyone believed Ali had no chance in his fight against George Foreman, but the American silenced his critics and came away with a spectacular win.
“I love boxing and his story I thought was an amazing story. When he [Muhammad Ali] beat George Foreman to win the world title, everyone thought he was finished, that he had absolutely no chance, everybody like wrote him off and stuff. That was something that for me at the time was inspirational," concluded the Brit.
34 years of age with a metal hip and he's beaten world number six Rafael Nadal in straight sets.
Andy Murray isn't finished yet. twitter.com/bet365/status/… https://t.co/4oivmFWvby
Andy Murray is currently competing at the Mubadala World Tennis Championships. After defeating Dan Evans and Rafael Nadal, the Brit will take on Andrey Rublev in the final on Saturday.