Andy Murray hosted an exclusive retirement party for his family and close friends just a week after stepping away from tennis, with Wimbledon hero Tim Henman one of the lucky names on the guest list.
After bidding an emotional farewell out on the clay court, the 37-year-old returned to his £5million mansion in Surrey, where he resides with his wife Kim and four children, as he gets a feel for life after hanging up his racket.
Murray hasn’t long been retired from tennis following his exit with Dan Evans from the Olympics doubles tournament in Paris, with the pair losing to Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul after a magical run to the quarter-finals at Roland Garros.
Given how they performed, there may have been suggestions Murray could regret his decision to retire. But Henman has dismissed any notion that Murray is having thoughts about quitting tennis, revealing that he is at peace with his decision.
“I actually saw him on Friday, he had a sort of a retirement bash for about 30 people at his house with Kim and his family,” Henman told Express Sport. “He was in great form there and I think he appreciates that this is absolutely the right time for him to stop.
“He’s overcome so many challenges physically over the last few years and hopefully now, there’s a time for him to reflect a little bit and look back on what a phenomenal career he’s had, the achievements and tournaments he won, everything that goes with it.
“[It’s] not only time to reflect, but to relax and spend time with his family because obviously the life of a professional tennis player is a massive commitment and it’s really 24/7 with the tournaments, training, travel, it’s on the road so much. Hopefully he can enjoy spending time with his kids.”
Murray will go down in history as one of the most successful British players of all time with three Grand Slam titles and 46 titles on the ATP Tour. He also claimed gold medals in the Olympic singles events at London 2012 and Rio 2016.
Replacing the Scot will be a difficult task for British tennis’ next batch of players off the production line, with Jack Draper the highest-ranked men’s star at 28th in the world. repetition of ‘player’
But Henman, the former British No 1 who reached the semi-finals of a Major on six occasions, believes it would be wrong to paint the 22-year-old as the ‘next Murray’.
“There will only ever be one Andy Murray,” Henman added. “We’ve got some great up and coming players, on the men’s side, Jack Draper is at the top of the list.
“But for Draper, it’s not about trying to be Andy Murray, it’s about trying to be the best version of himself. You look at the way his game is progressing and the improvements he’s made.
“He’s won a Tour title this year. He’s still very raw, he’s a long way off being a finished article but he’s already in the top 30 in the world, hopefully he can have a big finish to the year and no reason why he can’t finish in the top 20.”
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