Andy Murray Hints Heading Into ‘Last Few Months' of his Career after Dubai Win

Andy Murray of Great Britain celebrates after beating Denis Shapovalov of Canada during a match of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Monday, Feb. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)
Andy Murray of Great Britain celebrates after beating Denis Shapovalov of Canada during a match of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Monday, Feb. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)
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Andy Murray Hints Heading Into ‘Last Few Months' of his Career after Dubai Win

Andy Murray of Great Britain celebrates after beating Denis Shapovalov of Canada during a match of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Monday, Feb. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)
Andy Murray of Great Britain celebrates after beating Denis Shapovalov of Canada during a match of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Monday, Feb. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

Andy Murray hinted he is heading into the “last few months” of his career after rallying past Denis Shapovalov 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3 at the Dubai Championships for his 500th hard-court win.
“I obviously still love competing and still love the game, but it obviously gets harder and harder the older you get to compete with the young guys and keep your body fit and fresh,” the 36-year-old Murray said in an on-court interview after his first-round win on Monday. “I probably don’t have too long left, but I’ll do as best as I can these last few months.”
Murray, a three-time Grand Slam champion playing with an artificial hip, has considered retirement before. This was only his second win of the year.
After losing in straight sets to Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the first round of the Australian Open last month, Murray said it might be the last time he enters the season’s first major.
Murray improved to 18-5 for his career in Dubai, where he lifted the trophy in 2017. He’ll next face Ugo Humbert or Gael Monfils.
The only other players with 500 hard-court wins in the Open Era are Roger Federer (783), Novak Djokovic (700), Andre Agassi (592) and Rafael Nadal (518).
“Obviously hard court has been a great surface for me over the years and 500 is a lot of matches so I’m very proud of that,” The Associated Press quoted Murray as saying. “There are not many players that have done that, so great to get to 500 before I’m done.”



‘Flooding Rains’ Threaten to Dampen Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony

Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
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‘Flooding Rains’ Threaten to Dampen Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony

Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)

The Paris Olympics look likely to get off to a soggy start.

Meteo-France, the French weather service, is predicting “flooding rains” Friday evening when the opening ceremony is set to unroll along the Seine River. But the show is set to go on as planned, starting at 1:30 p.m. EDT/7:30 p.m. CEST and should last more than three hours.

Already in the late afternoon, skies were gray with intermittent drizzle. There was a silver lining, though, with temperatures expected to stay relatively warm throughout the evening.

Instead of a traditional march into a stadium, about 6,800 athletes will parade on more than 90 boats on the Seine River for 6 kilometers (3.7 miles). Though 10,700 athletes are expected to compete at these Olympics, hundreds of soccer players are based outside Paris, surfers are in Tahiti and many have yet to arrive for their events in the second week, organizers said Thursday.

Hundreds of thousands of people, including 320,000 paying and invited ticket-holders, are expected to line the Seine’s banks as athletes are paraded along the river on boats.