#AusOpen gets emotional as Andy Murray bows out in first round

#AusOpen gets emotional as Andy Murray bows out in first round

The Australian Open was trending on Monday as Andy Murray bid an emotional farewell to the tournament and possibly his career.

The Scottish tennis ace fought back from two sets behind against Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut to take the match into a fifth set, but it was a contest he couldn’t win.

Monday’s defeat could be the last ever game for the three-time Grand Slam winner, following a tearful press conference on Friday in which Murray said he would retire after this year’s Wimbledon as he could no longer play through the pain of a hip injury.

“Maybe I’ll see you again,” he said on court after the match on Monday. “I’ll do everything possible to try.

“If I want to go again, I’ll need to have a big operation, which there’s no guarantee I’ll be able to come back from, but I’ll give it my best shot.”

The official Twitter account for the Australian Open led the tributes with a montage of current and former players including Rafa Nafal and Novak Djokovic.

Other tennis aces including Greg Rusedski, Martina Navratilova, Marion Bartoli and Katie Boulter all sent their best wishes on social media as well.

And it wasn’t just tennis stars who were feeling the weight of the occasion.

Current and former footballers including Gary Lineker, World Cup winners Gerard Pique and Toni Kroos, all sent messages of support and congratulations over social media.

And Andy’s mum Judy simply tweeted that she was “so proud”.

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