Andy Murray reveals meeting doctor who predicted the end of the Brit's career in 2017, takes pride in proving him wrong

After bowing out of the 2023 Australian Open on Saturday, Andy Murray made public that he had recently met the doctor who told him about his tennis career coming to an end in 2017.

The former World No. 1 was beaten 6-1, 6-7(7), 6-3, 6-4 in three hours and 29 minutes by Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut in the third round. However, Murray leaves with his head held high, having won the hearts of the entire tennis world with his extraordinary performances in the first two matches. He spent a little over 14 hours on the court across his three fixtures in Melbourne this year.

In the first round, the 35-year-old saved a match point before going on to defeat last year's semifinalist Matteo Berrettini 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-7(7), 7-6(6) in four hours and 49 minutes. He further raised the bar in his next match against home favorite Thanasi Kokkinakis as the two players battled for five hours and 45 minutes, with Murray coming back from two sets down to win 4-6, 6-7(4), 7-6(5), 6-3, 7-5.

The three-time Grand Slam winner has struggled with injuries over the last few years. He competed at the 2022 US Open with a metal hip. After his match on Saturday, Murray took to social media to reveal that in 2017, a doctor told him to give up on his career if he wanted to fix his hip. The Brit met the same doctor and was happy to "dispel that myth."

"2 days ago, I randomly bumped into the doctor who in 2017 told me 'the good news is the problem you have in your hip can be fixed but you won’t be able to play professional sport again'. I think we dispelled that myth in the last 5 days. Goodnight," Murray tweeted.

Andy Murray was also congratulated by the First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, as she doffed her hat to the tennis veteran for his never-give-up attitude.

"Not to be for @andy_murray today - but in terms of sheer guts, determination, never-say-die sportsmanship, he’s the stand out winner of this competition. What a credit to tennis and sport - and, of course, Scotland. Well done, Andy - we’re all so proud of you," Sturgeon wrote.

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Andy Murray to play in Rotterdam and Dubai

Andy Murray received a standing ovation on Saturday

In a press conference after his third-round defeat, Andy Murray revealed the tournaments in which he will play next. Although the Brit is injury-free, he needs time to recover before he can resume the tour. He plans to take part in the Rotterdam Open and Dubai Tennis Championships — two ATP 500 events.

"The next tournament I'm entered in is Rotterdam. Planning on playing Rotterdam and Dubai," Murray said. "I don't have an injury, which is good. Yeah, my body obviously has had a lot of load and stress going through it these last few days. Yeah, I'll need to take a bit of time to recover."