Andy Murray's heroics

There was, it was remarked, something gallant about the way Andy Murray conducted himself yesterday when he crashed out of Wimbledon, beaten over 5 sets by Sam Querrey.

He fought as hard as he could to the final point, didn't quit, and didn't whinge. It was stirring stuff.

Yet I found it regrettable.

Murray's hip was giving him trouble - not for the first time - and as the match wore on, the problem got worse.

I'm no doctor, but my understanding is this: you can take a few liberties with a pulled muscle*, but when you've got a pain in your joint, you can't take any at all.

Joint pain can be due to tendon, ligament, or cartilage damage. They're real nasties.

Murray shouldn't have played at Wimbledon if he had reason to believe his hip wasn't up to it; and when the problem emerged, he should have quit. The crowd wouldn't have liked it, but his health is more important than the feelings of the crowd.

If Murray had pulled out as soon as his hip stated bothering him, he might've had some chance of a speedy recovery. By playing with his injury, he could have made it so bad as to put him out of the game for months.

Maybe even given himself a long-term problem.

So, in the unlikely event that you're reading this and you're on Murray's team, please tell him firmly never to do that again.

His fans - including me - want to see him healthy, and above all, we want to see him play!


*To be clear, those liberties don't include competing in anything more strenuous than tiddlywinks.

Note: Djokovic had the good sense to retire from his match but he probably should've done so sooner

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