JOHN MCENROE MAKES DEMAND ON WIMBLEDON TO RECOGNISE ANDY MURRAY WITH PLANS IN PLACE

Wimbledon should build a statue of Andy Murray to celebrate his achievements according to John McEnroe.

The two-time winner, who ended a lengthy wait for a home champion when he won his first title back in 2013, is coming to the end of his impressive career. Murray is now playing with a metal hip and the end of his playing days is certainly nearing.

There have been suggestions that Murray may play at SW19 for the final time next month. McEnroe believes his success and impact on the sport in the UK should be recognised.

The American said when quizzed: “If I was making that decision, I would say absolutely, yes, because that's a long drought, 77 years. He's absolutely changed the way people look at British tennis. He's one of the greatest competitors that I've ever seen play tennis. It would be well deserved, and it'd be awesome because two of his three Grand Slam wins were at Wimbledon plus the Olympics. So that would seem to make a whole lot of sense.”

Wimbledon have said they want to wait and recognise Murray until after he announces his retirement - and has plans in place if he makes the decision during The Championships.

Murray's last Grand Slam came at Wimbledon in 2016, the year where he finally rose to No 1. He has battled for much of his peak against Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer - with victories over the historic trio only adding to his legacy.

McEnroe added: “It would be awesome if Murray could have one last hurrah. He was part of the Big Four and he finished 2016 as the best player in the world. So it's unfortunate that because of injuries, you don't hear about him the same way he did before. It is like the Big Three now.

"And he could have won more majors obviously. So he's still going to be considered one of the great players of his era. Obviously he's going to be below those other guys but so was everyone else. So he's had a tremendous career. Unfortunately, most careers don't end the way you want them to. I don't think that you can take away from the accomplishments.”

The Scottish was knighted back in 2019 during the late Queen’s New Year Honours List after being awarded the title more than two years prior. Murray has confessed: "I was grateful for the recognition and everything but I also felt a bit uncomfortable with it because of my age."

Other legendary figures have been recognised at other Grand Slams with Spanish great Nadal getting a statue outside of Roland Garros in 2021 before he won his record 14th French Open the following year.

2024-06-25T17:27:25Z dg43tfdfdgfd