By Randy Walker
@TennisPublisher
Andy Murray enters what is likely his final Wimbledon tournament with huge doubts to his fitness, due to injury to his back.
Murray was forced to retire in his second round match at the Cinch Championships at Queens Club last week, the two-time Wimbledon champion hobbling off the court with nerve problems due to cyst in his back trailing 4-1 to Jordan Thompson.
His participation at Wimbledon is in doubt as he elects to wait until the last minute to decide to play in singles and in doubles.
Murray’s final career episodes mirror those of his most famous coach, Hall of Famer Ivan Lendl who was also stricken with back issues at the end of his career. In 1994, Lendl’s final year on tour, he retired from four matches with bad problems as his ranking dropped out of the top 10. At the 1994 U.S. Open, he was forced to retire to German Bernd Karbacher in the second round, trailing 6-4, 7-6, 1-0 after leading 5-0 in the second set.
Said Lendl of his struggling back condition in his post-match press conference after his loss to Karbacher, “It has been the pattern pretty much this summer that I would have some good days and some bad, and sometimes it feels good for a week, ten days. Then I have a bad day when I don’t feel that good or can’t play.”
When asked if he thought at the time if his match with Karbacher would be his last at the U.S. Open, Lendl quipped “ It is always a chance. I may get run over by a car just outside…” When asked if would be back next year at Flushing Meadows, Lendl said, “That is a good question.” And then if he wants to be back at the U.S. Open, he said, “Yes, I would like to.”
Lendl left the U.S. Open with more questions and answers and he never played again on the ATP Tour.
He officially announced his retirement in a global media conference call on December 20, 1994, as excerpted below from the “On This Day In Tennis History” book (for sale and download here: https://a.co/d/03X5r1Qg).
December 20, 1994 – Thirty-four-year-old Ivan Lendl, the Czech player who plays in a record 19 major singles finals, announces his retirement from tennis after a 15-year career due to continued back problems. Lendl wins eight major titles, including three straight U.S. Open titles from 1985 to 1987. He also wins the French Open in 1984, 1986 and 1987, two Australian titles in 1990 and 1991 and ranks No. 1 in the world for 270 weeks. Says Lendl in a media conference call where he announces his decision, “This is a very difficult and sad time for me. This is not the way I would have chosen to retire and I’m sure I will miss the game I love. I enjoyed playing the game, had a lot of great times, and I will miss it.”
