Andy Murray out of Australian Open: Briton talks retirement after defeat by Roberto Bautista Agut
Reaction from the first-round match at the Australian Open in Melbourne
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Your support makes all the difference.Andy Murray’s Australian Open is over after losing a thriller to Roberto Bautista Agut in what could be the final match of his career.
Murray is contemplating retirement due to the persistent hip injury that has blighted him for more than two years, with the three-time Grand Slam champion admitting last week that he will retire in 2019, hopefully after one last outing at Wimbledon in the summer.
But such is the pain that he is fighting, Murray could now choose to call it quits now that his Australian Open campaign has come to an end.
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What time does it start?
Murray vs Bautista Agut is due to begin not before 7am, and more likely to be around an 8am start once Kyle Edmund’s match against Tomas Berdych has completed.
Where can I watch it?
The match will be shown live on Eurosport.
Odds
Andy Murray to win: 4/1
Roberto Bautista Agut to win: 1/5
Murray 4-6, 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 5-6 Bautista Agut*Murray floats a drop-shot over but it's a looping one that gives his opponent time to race in and flash a passing shot across for a 30-0 advantage. Murray fights back, forcing an error, but Bautista Agut quickly restores the advantage as Murray is caught in the middle of the court and the Spaniard finds the corner. An ace wraps up the game, and it'll be a tiebreak of defeat for Murray from here.
*Murray 4-6, 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-6 Bautista AgutMurray takes the early advantage and then picks the perfect time to rush in and put a half-drop-shot where Bautista Agut knows he can't get to in time. 30-0, and Bautista Agut clips the top of the net that sends the ball long. Murray holds-to-love, and it's another tiebreak!
Murray 4-6, 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-6 Bautista AgutMurray wins the first point against serve with a beautiful rally that he was in control of throughout, but he produces one of his worst unforced errors of the match as he rushes in and fires long. That was a big chance wasted, but he at least holds serve when Bautista Agut hits long.
2-1 and back on serve, and Bautista Agut cannons the ball into the net to restore the advantage. Uncharacteristically, Bautista Agut wastes both points on his serve and Murray leads the tiebreak 4-1!
Murray 4-6, 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-4) Bautista AgutMurray is flying! He clips a delicate drop-shot over the net and is 5-1 up at the changeover. Another point, another one for Murray, and he's a point away from levelling the match!
Murray tries to drop-shot Bautista Agut out of the set but it's a little bit too casual and into the net. He still has four more chances, but after brilliantly reading Bautista Agut's movement the Spaniard does exactly the same to return fire. No need to panic as they were both on his serve, and now Murray has two serves to clinch the match-equalling set. The first goes begging as he hits the net...6-4 and doubts start to creep in...HE'S DONE IT!
ANDY MURRAY LEVELS THE MATCH!
And you through that third set was an emotional rollercoaster!
This is an incredible effort from Murray. Win or lose, this will possibly go down as his greatest ever performance, given he nearly wrote himself off before the match. But the one place he didn't write himself off is inside his own head, and the sheer resilience has now made way to his individual talent as he played Bautista Agut off the court in that tiebreak.
Into the fifth and final set we go.
*Murray 4-6, 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-4), 1-0 Bautista AgutIt really is anyone's match. Murray is in the ascendancy, but his hip could get the better of him at any moment. Not in this game though, as he rattles off four straight points to hold serve. He's turned the pressure onto the Spaniard here.
Murray 4-6, 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-4), 1-1 Bautista Agut*Unbelievable. A 16-shot rally sees the ball looped up high, sliced in short, yet when Bautista Agut goes for it he misses and Murray emphatically celebrates, only for 0-15. Murray gets another and it's 0-30 and Bautista Agut is on the ropes here, given his opponent seems to be digging deeper and deeper and coming up with results. Murray fires one long when he goes for the cross-court winner, and despite a challenge he does exactly the same to level the game 30-30.
Bautista Agut gets him running - something he hasn't done for quite some time - as Murray flicks a forehand into the net, and Murray hits another wide for the hold of serve.
*Murray 4-6, 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-4), 1-2 Bautista AgutFor the first time, it's Bautista Agut who lazily hits into the net when not under pressure. However, Murray lets him off the hooker with a long backhand that continues his slightly alarming string of errors, and Bautista Agut punishes Murray for the error by winning the next point. Murray goes for a lob, but it's not high enough and Bautista Agut smashes a winner to give himself two break points.
Murray saves one with an overhead smash, but Bautista Agut takes the second and that could be huge.
Murray 4-6, 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-4), 1-3 Bautista Agut*A drop-shot leaves Murray stranded and he can't reach it in time, and a return runs long to make it 30-0 in the blink of an eye. Another unreturnable serve goes in favour of Bautista Agut, and he holds-to-love with the perfect response to the break of serve.
Has he finally broken Andy Murray?
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