Wimbledon 2023: Jamie Murray on fatherhood, TV work and retirement plans

1 year ago 22

Jamie Murray column

Seven-time large doubles champion Jamie Murray is backmost arsenic a BBC Sport columnist implicit the Wimbledon fortnight.

Before his third-round lucifer successful the men's doubles, the 37-year-old Briton talks astir however becoming a begetter has impacted his vocation and wherefore helium is combining tv enactment with playing astatine the US Open.

Last twelvemonth I became a begetter for the archetypal clip and having my girl Ava astatine my matches astatine Wimbledon makes maine consciousness truthful fortunate.

Recently we celebrated her archetypal day and it is astonishing however rapidly the clip has gone. It has been an astonishing twelvemonth and specified a travel for maine and my woman Alejandra.

Ava is astatine an astonishing property wherever she's conscionable astir walking and truthful galore things alteration successful her improvement from Monday done to Sunday.

That's wherefore I'm truthful pleased some my girl and my woman person been capable to question to immoderate of my tournaments this year.

The beingness of a tennis subordinate means you are connected the roadworthy for truthful galore weeks of the twelvemonth and it means you walk a batch of clip distant from home.

With Ava being truthful young still, my household were capable to travel to Australia astatine the commencement of the twelvemonth and were besides successful the US for the 'Sunshine Double' successful Indian Wells and Miami.

While Alejandra and Ava weren't astatine the events, they were staying adjacent by with household and I could spot them earlier and aft the tournaments.

They besides came to Madrid arsenic well, truthful we person managed to walk immoderate decent clip together. It is precise antithetic compared to however it utilized to beryllium earlier Ava arrived, but it is fun.

Alejandra and I consciousness precise fortunate to person Ava present successful our lives.

At Wimbledon Alejandra and Ava came to ticker my mixed doubles lucifer connected Sunday. They watched the warm-up - but then, similar astir babies, Ava didn't privation to beryllium still.

Alejandra took her distant from the lucifer but it was inactive beauteous to person her astir and made the time truly special.

I've nary thought if I'll inactive beryllium playing erstwhile Ava's aged capable to sorb it more, but it would beryllium bully to person her sitting astatine a lucifer and enjoying it.

I'm 37 present and adjacent if I play until I'm 40 - which I deliberation I tin - kids inactive don't person a large attraction span astatine the property of four.

Her watching maine play erstwhile she's older isn't needfully what gives maine the information to support playing - it's much astir maine inactive feeling bully and feeling fit.

My assemblage is successful bully wellness and I haven't had atrocious injuries oregon large surgeries - interaction wood.

What provides maine with information is getting retired determination connected tribunal and inactive trying to get better.

Michael Venus and I tin bash bully things successful the men's doubles. We've been accordant successful the past fewer months, we tin inactive vie successful the large tournaments and hopefully triumph some. Our level is there.

Another happening which inactive gives maine the buzz is playing successful beforehand of bully crowds, particularly astatine Wimbledon, wherever determination is large ambiance and a batch of radical wanting autographs.

That's what makes it each worthwhile and that's what is fun. When you halt playing you won't get that immoderate much and it's gone forever.

Why I'm dipping my toed into TV work

I don't cognize however overmuch longer I volition beryllium capable to play. Hopefully that volition beryllium a fewer years distant - I've nary plans yet to retire.

For those players who person things acceptable up for erstwhile they halt playing, that thought of status is not arsenic scary.

But if I halt playing time it'll beryllium similar "woah, what americium I going to bash now?"

So, arsenic I attack the extremity of my career, it is important to commencement reasoning astir however the aboriginal mightiness look erstwhile my playing days are yet over.

That is 1 of the reasons wherefore I volition beryllium moving arsenic portion of the UK tv sum astatine the US Open aboriginal this year.

I'll beryllium doing pieces connected tract for Sky Sports during the tournament, not successful the commentary booth calling matches, but much providing investigation and colour from a player's perspective.

That could beryllium going astir the grounds, previewing the matches, oregon discussing the talking points connected the circuit astatine that time.

The information I'm a subordinate competing successful the tourney and cognize what's going connected successful the locker country - however the players are feeling astir the event; the main talking points successful determination - means I tin bring a unsocial position from that side.

I anticipation I tin get crossed a existent consciousness of what's happening connected the crushed astatine Flushing Meadows. That means talking astir the set-up, the conditions, beingness successful New York.

I wouldn't accidental moving successful tv is thing I've thought loads astir before. At this signifier it is simply a lawsuit of dipping my toed in, but I volition beryllium taking it precise earnestly and mightiness similar to bash much of it.

A batch of players spell into the media; a batch spell into coaching. Becoming a tourney director, similar I person done astatine the Battle of Brits exhibition, is different path.

In the tennis manufacture it is imaginable to harvester each those things and I conjecture that is wherefore a batch of erstwhile players bash that is due to the fact that a batch of the roles are not full-time.

For example, being tourney manager successful definite events is not a full-time, 48-week role. It mightiness conscionable beryllium a six-week oregon eight-week thing.

It is the aforesaid with commentating. They're not doing 30 weeks down the microphone - it mightiness conscionable beryllium 10 oregon 15 weeks with a definite broadcaster - truthful they person inactive got two-thirds of a twelvemonth oregon fractional a twelvemonth to bash different things.

What I volition extremity up yet doing aft playing mightiness beryllium down to timing, depending connected what opportunities are available.

For now, moving connected the US Open tv sum is simply a truly breathtaking accidental and I'm already looking guardant to being successful New York.

Jamie Murray was speaking to BBC Sport's Jonathan Jurejko astatine Wimbledon.

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