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We live in an era where the terms Quiet Quitting and Work From Home have become commonplace in the language.
This is also, still, the Andy Murray era in tennis. He stands out as someone who represents the complete opposite of those terms, and will continue to do so.
The 35-year-old Scotsman was heading home last night after quite an extraordinary week, even by his standards. Before leaving, he tweeted: ‘2 days ago I met the doctor by chance who in 2017 told me: “The good news is that the problem you have with your hip can be solved, but you will not be able to play professional sport again.” I think we dispelled that myth in the last 5 days.’
Andy Murray will make improving his ranking the priority in the coming months
Murray loves having something, or someone, to push. Anyone suggesting he couldn’t become the first player to properly compete in singles with a metal hip, whether from the medical world or the media, is perfect fodder.
He hasn’t quit quietly, and working from home is a modus operandi he barely acknowledges.
Even as the father of four children, with more accumulated wealth than he could possibly spend, he remains hell-bent on living the itinerant life he chose, to squeeze every last drop out of his career.
Murray played in and prepared for nineteen tournaments last season that were away from his London base. At the end of all that, he went to Florida for three weeks to work with Ivan Lendl.
Andy Murray is out of the Australian Open after losing to the Spanish Roberto Bautista Agut
Bautista Agut outlasted the 35-year-old in four sets, beating Murray 6-1 6-7 6-3 6-4
Immediately after Christmas he left for Australia, from where he now returns, battered and tired.
However, the journey never stops and the loitering never begins. In February he will play indoors in Rotterdam and then head to Dubai, before flying to Indian Wells in California and then on to Miami.
Murray’s immediate priority is to move his rankings up to a position where he is seeded for tournaments and thus avoid having to face the likes of Matteo Berrettini in the first round, as he did in this tournament.
The fact is that his ranking has only marginally improved from the mammoth efforts of the week, rising to 62.
The Spaniard beat him in three hours and 29 minutes and reserved his place in the next round
Murray (right) will rank just outside the top 60 after this tournament and will no doubt be hoping to be in the top 32 at Wimbledon.
“Obviously, in recent years, some of the Slam draws have been very difficult,” he said before leaving. He was pretty clear that it was something he wanted to do last year to try and get to the seed spots. It didn’t quite happen.
“If I was playing at this level last year, I probably wouldn’t be ranked 50 or 60 in the world.”
The next few months represent an opportunity because you have relatively few points to defend from the corresponding period of 2022, on the twelve-month rolling system.
Watching the week’s events unfold was his close friend from the teenage academy years and former coach, Dani Vallverdu, who currently works with Grigor Dimitrov. He knows Murray better than anyone on the circuit.
Returning to the top 32 would give him a place at the All England Club and avoid a first round tie against the likes of Matteo Berrettini.
“The most important aspect is his love and passion for the game, he breathes it, he follows all levels of the circuit, not just the main tour,” Vallverdu told Sportsmail.
‘Every detail, from nutrition to fitness, to the tactical side of the game, wants to know why things happen and the reasons behind it all. It can be challenging to work with him in that regard.
You want all the information so that you can find the solution to what you are trying to achieve. On top of that, he loves to prove people wrong or prove something to himself.
One day, even Murray will be defeated by the wear and tear on his body, but it is doubtful that he will lose out in tennis.
Obsessive love and fascination for sport is more likely to find its expression in training than in jumping on the bandwagon of experts.
The good news for Murray is that his hard work in the offseason paid off in terms of his physical acuity and confidence in his game.
Vallverdu is more convinced than ever that Murray’s strange mix of empathy and extreme competitiveness makes him ideal for helping others: ‘I think he would be an exceptional coach. In terms of standards and understanding of what it takes to maximize potential, with everything he’s been through, he would be one of the best people around.
‘The key to being a good coach is the personal side and it is someone who likes to listen. You are soft-spoken but direct, and will be able to convey a clear message. If I were a great professional, I would hire him in a second if he decides to go that route.’
It’s also all too easy to imagine Murray one day becoming Great Britain’s Captain in Davis Cup or other team competitions.
Given that he was the last single GB player standing, for the first time since 2017, it still seems premature for that.
The current incumbent, Leon Smith, sat courtside for all fourteen hours of Murray’s three games and was stunned by his testimony.
Murray was visibly emotional in his press conference after coming off the Australian Open.
“I think it could be argued that it’s been one of the most impressive physical acts by any athlete,” Smith said.
“When you think about what he’s been through with his hip, being able to go out there, with the movement side of things and being able to get up and do it again, it was amazing.
“Even going back on the court, any of the 25 would have been in tatters after those first two games and he goes out there and makes it an incredibly competitive third-round matchup.”
‘His heart is incredible. You get excited to see her when she’s doing it, just to see someone go through it. You talk about a role model, that desire that that hunger, we’ve talked about that for a long time throughout his career, but now it’s even more prominent.
Murray has not actually been selected for the GB Davis Cup tie in Colombia as of Friday week, and it will be a rare weekend for him at home. However, he can be sure that, in the dead of winter, he will stay up until night watching it on a screen.