Andy Murray’s last Australian Open…or was it?

On Monday night, the crowd in Rod Laver Arena was poised to bid adieu to Andy Murray, who said that the hip pain that has been dogging him for almost two years was finally too much to bear. The Australian Open, he mused, might even be his last tournament ever. And indeed it appeared as though his Aussie denouement would conclude with three quick acts; he found himself down two sets and a break to the red-hot Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut.

But as there has been so many times before, there was magic in the night air in Melbourne. Murray dug deep, clawed his way back to even the match at two sets apiece. He was, in short, Andy Murray again–even if it was just for a little while. The crowd loved it. The broadcast booth loved it. I’ll bet even the Queen herself was chuffed. Probably the only person who did NOT love it was RBA, who was surely kicking himself for letting Murray and the crowd back in the match.

It was not to be. The fifth set quickly got away from Murray and Bautista Agut finally buttoned up the win 6-2. The Australian Open was prepared. They sent Murray’s former coach Mark Petchey out to do the on-court interview. At first, I was disappointed. For years, Jim Courier has done the on-court work in high-profile matches in RLA, and he has this knack for saying things like, “So. Andy. For a minute there, it looked like you might win. And then you didn’t. How does that make you feel?” And then Andy could say, “Gee, Jim. Thanks for asking. It felt great. How about I poke you in the eyeballs Three Stooges-style, and you tell me how that feels?” I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say we were robbed.

But even though Petchey’s interpretation of an ‘on-court interview’ was holding the microphone awkwardly and in complete silence while Murray said “I don’t really have anything to say,” it was undoubtedly a post-match monologue for the ages. Because after standing there for a few seconds while the crowd cheered wildly and Petchey did some more microphone-holding, Murray filled the silence. And what he said was, “Maybe I’ll see you again. I’m going to do everything possible to try.” Er…what was that? “If I want to go again, I’ll need to have…like…a big operation, which there are no guarantees I’d be able to come back anyway from, but I’ll give it my best shot.”

That bombshell alone would have been epic enough. Nobody wants to see a champion of Andy Murray’s caliber and relatively young age forced into retirement, and I think everyone secretly hoped he would reconsider. But what happened next is the stuff of legends, a confirmation that the best comedy is born of a mulish refusal to alter one’s course after it has been set regardless of the mounting evidence that it might no longer be advisable.

There was a montage, you see. A tribute of fellow players saying their farewells. Farewells that, given Murray’s comments, might have been a tad on the premature side:

An amazing tennis player.

But an even better person.

Thank you, @andy_murray 👏#AusOpen pic.twitter.com/uRPBLC2zY6

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 14, 2019

You could tell that the Australian Open people worked REALLY hard on that montage. Sloane Stephens said “lad.” John Isner helpfully identified himself. Karolina Pliskova very possibly never met Murray before, but wanted to thank him for sticking up for women’s tennis. They weren’t about to let a little thing like a retirement retraction stop them from plowing ahead with that video. “We WILL say goodbye to you, dammit! Whether you’re leaving or not!”

I don’t want to be too harsh on the AO people. It was a lovely thought (Pliskova notwithstanding). And it was a fitting tribute to a worthy champion…but I can’t believe somebody wasn’t hissing in Petchey’s ear, “He just said he might not retire! Why are you IGNORING HIM!?”

I’m certain when they imagined the scene, the envisioned a tearful Murray wiping his eyes over Federer calling him sir. What they GOT was Andy staring at the jumbotron open-mouthed with disbelief. Ep.ic, am I right?

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