"Andy Murray wants to feel the adrenaline of late stages of a Slam again" - Andy Roddick
Andy Murray's career path has been analyzed by former tennis professional Andy Roddick, who thinks the Brit wants to be at the finish line of Grand Slams again.
Murray has won three Grand Slam titles in his career, two at Wimbledon and one at the US Open. Murray has since fallen off due to age, but mostly due to injuries, as he has been playing with a metal hip for a few years now.
The 36-year-old has brought his ATP ranking back up mostly by playing great at the Challenger level, and he now sits at World No. 40 spot.
"This guy doesn't need to play Challengers, he's ranked high enough to get direct entry, but then he goes and plays them because he wants the matches. I just marvel at his ability to get up for every single match," Roddick said on the Tennis Channel.
Murray hasn't gone past the third round of a Major since the 2017 Wimbledon, where he bowed down in the quarterfinals. Roddick thinks that despite his injuries and age, Murray's goals are still very high.
"What I think Murray's goal is -- I think he wants to compete at a Slam, in the second week of a Slam, whether it's a round of 16, a quarterfinal, or maybe even a semifinal. As he's built his resume back up being a top 40 player, kind of performing consistently with making a couple of finals at tour events, but he has exited early in some Slams," Roddick added.
The former World No. 1 remembered Murray's match against Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round of the 2023 Wimbledon Championships. The Greek won the battle after five sets, 7-6(3), 6-7(2), 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-4.
"He had that great opportunity against Tsitsipas at Wimbledon, where the draw was kinda open, so... I think he wants to feel the adrenaline of the late stages of a Slam again, and we'll see if he can get there," Roddick concluded.
"Andy Murray wants nothing more but to be seeded at a Grand Slam" - Andrea Petkovic
Former German tennis professional, Andrea Petkovic, commented on Andy Murray's career trajectory and future goals.
Petkovic, who was once World No. 9 on the WTA tour, explained what she thinks Murray's goals are.
"I think he wants nothing more but to be seeded at a Grand Slam, so he can just go ahead for next season if he continues to play next season, so he can make a better and smarter tournament schedule. As of now he can't do that -- he has to play Challengers, we saw that he was in Nice earlier this year playing a Challenger," Petkovic said on the Tennis Channel.
"He's playing all these small tournaments, trying to gather points together so he can be seeded at the Slams and make a smarter tournament schedule," she added.
The 35-year-old German also joked about Murray's abilities at his age.
"If you ever watch Andy Murray running to a drop shot, please pay attention to his racquet, because he uses it as support to push himself and propel himself forward. Maybe I should have tried that in my old days..." Petkovic said with a laugh.
Andy Roddick, who was a guest on the Tennis Channel show, chimed in to also make a joke at Andy Murray's expense.
"I think it used to be a tactic! I remember Mardy Fish used to get pi..ed off because he felt like (Murray) banged the racquet right before he hit the ball every time, but now I think it's a cane at this point!" Roddick stated.