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Tom Hamilton, Senior Writer
LONDON — Andy Murray is not sure if he has played his final Wimbledon singles match but has no plans to retire just yet.
Murray was knocked out of the Grand Slam on Friday after a five-set epic against Stefanos Tsitsipas. The match started Thursday but was suspended late in the evening due to a local council curfew. Murray went into Friday with a two-sets-to-one lead but was unable to convert that into a spot in the third round.
While Tsitsipas faces Laslo Djere on Saturday, Murray will pick through a heartbreaking defeat. Asked after the match how confident he is that he will be back next year, Murray answered: “I don’t know. Yeah, motivation is obviously a big thing. Continuing having early losses in tournaments like this don’t necessarily help with that.
“Yeah, it’s similar to, I guess, last year. I had a long think about things, spoke to my family, decided to keep on going. I don’t plan to stop right now. But yeah, this one will take a little while to get over. Hopefully find the motivation again to keep training, keep pushing, try and keep getting better.”
Murray took limited comfort from coming so close to beating the fifth-seeded Tsitsipas.
“To have a run at these tournaments, you need multiple, multiple wins in a row. Yeah, I’ve obviously not done that,” Murray said. “Ultimately this was an opportunity for me. I had a good chance of having a proper run for the first time in a long time at a Slam. I didn’t take it.”
Murray, a three-time Slam champion, said his return game was not on point but that he was pleased with his serve.
But there were regrets. One crucial moment in the match came in the fourth set at 4-4 with Murray holding a 30-15 lead on Tsitsipas’ serve. In the next point, Murray hit a backhand passing shot past Tsitsipas, but the ball was called out. Replays later showed the ball to be in.
Murray only realized this error when he was asked postmatch why he didn’t challenge the call. Had he won that point, he would have forced two break points that could have given him a chance to serve for the match.
“Well, I mean, it was right underneath the umpire’s nose,” Murray said. “They shouldn’t be missing. They shouldn’t be missing that, to be honest. If they’re unsure, they should let the player know, I think.
“But I mean, it could only have been a couple of meters. It was such a sharp, sharp angle. It was very short. I assumed the umpire would have made the right call. The lines person, I think, called it out. The umpire called it out.
“So, yeah, I mean, you can obviously argue it’s a mistake on my part. Ultimately the umpire made a poor call that’s right in front of her.”