Andy Murray admits he’s “not enjoying” his tennis after losing an epic contest to Alex de Minaur at the Paris Masters with the Briton also questioning his future in the game.
Murray smashed his racquet in frustration after De Minaur produced a stunning fightback in a last-set decider to win another epic contest between the pair 7-6 (7-5) 4-6 7-5 in the French capital.
The Scot has now lost all six matches he played against the Australian, including four this season.
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Murray showed his frustrations by destroying his racket after losing to Australia’s De Minaur in three sets in the first round of the Paris Masters
If I want to keep going, I’m going to need a lot of work. It’s not just going to be like one or two weeks of training to get me to where I need to get to, it’s going to have to be a lot of work and consistent work to give myself a chance.
Murray, who was booed by the Bercy crowd as he destroyed his racket after losing to the Australian, reflected on his shattering defeat by saying defeats are getting to him.
“It’s frustrating. I’m not really enjoying it just now in terms of how I feel on the court and how I’m playing,” said the 36-year-old two-time Wimbledon champion.
“The last five, six months haven’t been that enjoyable, so I need to try and find some of that enjoyment back because playing a match like that there’s not much positivity there.
“When I play a good point, I’m not really getting behind myself. In the important moments that will to win and fight that has always been a big part of my game. What happened today, I don’t remember it happening before, that’s not really me.
“The way that I’m feeling and playing on the court – I haven’t felt good about my game for large parts of this year. You obviously want to be seeing progress and feeling like you’re getting closer to something and I haven’t really felt like that. There were a few small signs in the summer over in the States but certainly nothing that’s been sustainable or consistent.
“The last few months it’s been more like that. I hadn’t really felt like that up until the last few months.”
Another Briton who did not enjoy the match was Katie Boulter – the girlfriend of De Minaur.
The British No 1 wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: “Had enough Alex and Andy for the rest of my life. No more please and thank you.”
Murray, who is entered for next week’s ATP 250 event in Metz before Great Britain’s Davis Cup quarter-final against Serbia in Malaga on Thursday, November 23, conceded there has been a lot of frustrations in training and admits he has a lot of work to do if he wants to continue playing the sport.
“Sometimes you play really well in practice and it doesn’t necessarily translate onto the match court, but you at least feel like you’re getting somewhere. Whereas for the most part in practice it’s not been great. A lot of frustration there in training, and that’s kind of carrying over into the matches,” he said.
“If I want to keep going, I’m going to need a lot of work. It’s not just going to be like one or two weeks of training to get me to where I need to get to, it’s going to have to be a lot of work and consistent work to give myself a chance.”
Murray will weigh up his options ahead of next month’s Davis Cup quarter-finals in Malaga
With Dan Evans already ruled out of the Davis Cup tie in Malaga next month through injury and Cameron Norrie struggling with a knee problem, Murray says he will take some time to consider whether to play for Great Britain at the end of November.
He added: “Right now I’m not in the best frame of mind to make a decision. Probably take a few days and make that call slightly later in the week and then see what happens with Davis Cup.”
