Former world No. 1 Andy Murray says his motivation to continue competing is different from Rafael Nadal’s. Murray, 35, has had two major hip surgeries since 2017 and is playing with a metal hip. On the other hand, Nadal is playing through chronic foot pain, but he is still winning Grand Slams and is ranked in the top-5 in the world.
Murray hasn’t had any notable results at the Grand Slam stage since 2017, but he continues to compete because he loves the game. “[My motivation] comes from enjoying the sport, loving the sport. My situation is a little bit different than his, with the operation that I had,” Murray told the ATP website.
“I think he is playing to try to break records and win the big events. Of course you have to love the sport and be willing to play through some pain when you become an older athlete, but I think it’s easier to play through pain when you’re competing for major titles.
In my case, the last four or five years have been very different, as I have played Challengers and my ranking has dropped. I feel like our situations are different, but ultimately the reasons I keep playing are because I love the game, and because I still believe I can compete at the highest level.”
The last few years haven’t been easy for Murray, but he was still able to reach two finals, win a title and beat some big names.
Rennae Stubbs comments on Nadal
On the latest edition of her show, ‘The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast,’ the 51-year-old said she that knew what was going to happen when Rafael Nadal got his doctor along to Paris.
“You know just to see Rafa again, find a way, with literally a dead foot – I knew when he said that he was bringing his doctor to the French Open, I knew exactly was going to be happening. I knew that he would be hitting that foot out with as much painkiller and anaesthetic that he could, to be able to operate on the tennis court and run,” Stubbs said, adding, “You know to see what he did by winning the tournament again is just outrageous.
To put his foot to sleep basically, to think he has an issue with the bone sort of basically depleting on him and cutting the nerve so he can actually run on a tennis court without pain is just outrageous,” Stubb said.
“You hear it in his voice, he knows that he cannot sustain that because when you put your foot to sleep you don’t have as much control over it and he’s probably worried about tearing or obviously going over on his ankle or he could fracture his foot and he has no idea because he has no pain in it because he’s deadened it so it’s just unbelievable,” she said.
Source: Tennis World USA