The Australian Open has kicked off and, as of the time of writing, Andy Murray had just stepped onto the court in his first-round match against Roberto Bautista Agut.

You can follow live coverage of that match here.

Normally, Murray’s first-round match wouldn’t be such big news, except for the fact that it may be his last ever professional tennis match.

Last week, in an emotional press conference where he broke down a number of times, Murray outlined just how much pain he suffers every day of his life.

Even if you’re not a fan of the Scotsman, you have to feel for him:

Debate continues to rage on whether Murray deserves the title of greatest ever British sportsman (some make the case quite convincingly), but we do know that Wimbledon are going to honour him with a statue.

Over to the Telegraph:

The All England Club intends to commemorate Andy Murray’s career with a statue at Wimbledon, matching the famous bronze of Fred Perry that provides a meeting place for thousands of people every year.

The AELTC’s officials are often tight-lipped on their plans but this was an exception. When Wimbledon chief executive Richard Lewis guested on BBC Radio Five Live’s Sportsweek programme on Sunday, he did not hesitate to confirm Murray’s future recognition through the medium of sculpture.

“For sure, I don’t think there’s any doubt about that,” said Lewis, when the question of a statue was raised. “We always felt that when Andy retired, that would be the appropriate time to recognise his extraordinary career.

“I am sure something like that will be done, but meanwhile down at the club he is seen as a highly respected person both on and off the court. We are very fond of him and he is a great person to have around the club.”

I know Wimbledon has Henman Hill, but he only reached the semi-finals on four occasions, failing to ever advance to the final.

Murray, on the other hand, has two Wimbledon titles to his name, as well as winning the 2012 US Open. When you consider that he has spent his career playing alongside Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal, those achievements are superb.

Sadly, any optimism from that press conference shown above had all but dissipated by the end of the weekend:

[Murray’s] optimism was not matched on Sunday by Dr John O’Donnell, the world-renowned hip specialist who performed his arthroscopy just over a year ago. Again, speaking on Sportsweek, Dr O’Donnell said: “I don’t think it is impossible, but it will be very difficult.

“He has tried really hard and explored every option that has any real possibility of being helpful. Realistically I don’t think there is anywhere else to go to preserve his hip and get it better so he can continue to play. That won’t happen now.”

We can only hope that Murray’s statue is better than the Mo Salah and Cristiano Ronaldo ones, and that he puts together a nice run over in Melbourne.

Again, you can follow his first-round match here.

[source:telegraph]