An emotional Andy Murray has revealed that he could reluctantly be forced to retire from tennis in the next couple of weeks.
Speaking at a press conference in Melbourne the British sporting legend struggled to hold back the tears as he revealed that he is still being plagued by a serious hip injury, meaning the Australian Open could well be the final tournament of his illustrious career, although he is aiming to compete at Wimbledon for one last time.
"I'm not sure I'm able to play through the pain for another four or five months," said the three-time Grand Slam winner and two-time Olympic champion.
"I want to get to Wimbledon and stop but I'm not certain I can do that."
Murray is scheduled to face Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut in the Australian Open first round on Monday, although bookmakers have the Scot out at 3/1 to progress through to the next round, with his opponent the 2/9 favourite for the win.
At first Murray had to leave the press conference in order to compose himself, but returned to tell shocked journalists:
"I've been in a lot of pain for about 20 months now. I've pretty much done everything I could to try and get my hip feeling better and it hasn't helped loads.
"I'm in a better place than I was six months ago but I'm still in a lot of pain. I can still play to a level, but not a level I have played at."
Back in 2012 Murray became the first British male in a staggering 76-years to get his hands on a Grand Slam singles title after out-battling rival Novak Djokovic in five gruelling sets. The following year he broke the Wimbledon curse as he once again beat the Serb to win the oldest tennis tournament in the world, which he would go on to win again in 2016, which is likely to be his third and final success.
Murray, who reached eight other Grand Slam finals, also won Olympic Gold in both London and Rio de Janeiro.
You can watch Murray’s emotional press-conference below: