Australian Open 2019: Jamie Murray hopes operation will improve brother Andy’s quality of life off the court

Having watched what might have been his final match, Jamie Murray admitted that tennis takes a back seat for Andy as he faces a decision over how to handle his debilitating hip injury

Jamie Murray is uncertain what the future might hold for his brother Andy but is hoping that if he has further surgery on his injured right hip it will improve his quality of life

“I just hope that, whatever happens, he can get back to just regular life, pain-free, and be able to enjoy himself and not be in constant pain,” Jamie said here on Wednesday at the Australian Open.

“If he’s able to come back and play tennis, if that’s what he wants to do, then I’m sure he’ll give it everything he can. But I think for me it's just important that he gets back to regular life and is able to do what he wants to do.”

Andy, who was due to fly back home today after the first-round defeat here on Monday that might prove to be the last match of his career, expects to decide over the next week whether to have further surgery.

Without an operation Murray could take a break, return to training in the summer and play at Wimbledon in what he had planned as his farewell tournament. However, he would still have to deal with the day-to-day pain that has troubled him ever since he suffered the injury in the summer of 2017.

The alternative would be to have a “resurfacing” operation on his hip, which involves replacing the lining of the damaged joint with a smooth artificial surface. It should alleviate his physical pain, but it is doubtful whether he would be able to put in the hard work in training that he would need to play at the top level again.

However, Jamie said: “Other athletes have done that surgery and come back to do their sport. I don’t know how successfully or at what level they’re playing at. Bob Bryan's had the surgery that Andy's got and he's back playing now, but obviously it's a lot easier to do that in doubles rather than singles.”

He added: “I knew how difficult it was for Andy because of the pain he's in and also the frustration of not being able to play to the level that he's used to or expects of himself. But in a way I was glad for him that he’d taken a decision. It was a lot of weight off his shoulders.”

Jamie said it had been “a difficult week for Andy and for the family” but said he had been pleased with the way his brother had played on Monday evening and with the reception he had been given by the crowd.

“The support that he got from start to finish was incredible,” Jamie said. “If it is his last Australian Open then that’s a great way for him to finish and I’m sure he’ll be more than happy with that.

Jamie Murray hopes a hip operation can improve his brother Andy's quality of life in the future (Getty)

“He’s had an incredible career with a lot of remarkable moments on the tennis court, the things he’s been able to achieve, the performances that he’s been able to come up with and the titles and everything that he’s won. I’m sure he’ll go down as a legend in this sport.”

Jamie said the on-screen tributes paid to Andy at the end of the match – with other players talking about his career in the past tense – had been “a little bit odd” because his brother had not confirmed that he would never play again.

However, Jamie added: “I understand why tournaments do that because if he doesn’t come back then they want to give him a send-off and show their appreciation for what he has done – especially at this tournament, where he has played in five finals.”

Jamie Murray was in attendance to watch what could have been brother Andy's final match (Getty)

Describing the Murrays’ career as “an amazing story”, Jamie said: “We've come from a small town in Scotland, 8,000 people max. Our mum obviously tried to do what she could to create opportunities for us and for the other players, first at Dunblane and then on a more national level.

“Our parents made incredible sacrifices for us, from just working Monday to Friday and then getting in the car and then driving us down to England for the weekend, play tournaments, come back, back to work, do the same thing again.

“We were obviously fortunate that we had indoor courts close to us. A lot of people in Scotland don’t have access to that so I guess we could continue playing through the winter in better situations.

“But to go from that to getting to the top of the game and winning Grand Slams – he reached 11 Grand Slam finals - it's incredible really.”

Jamie backed up his brother’s contention that British tennis had failed to take advantage of the golden era which he has spearheaded by his brother.

“How on earth are you going to grow a sport if you can’t do it when you've got one of the biggest stars in tennis for the last 10 years, and one of Britain's most prominent sports people,” Jamie said.

Jamie lamented the fact that for all the success of his brother in particular there has been little evidence of improvements to playing facilities in recent years.

“You look around the country, whether that's Scotland or the whole of the UK, and there wouldn’t be much to show for it, for everything he’s put into his career and the success that he’s had and the interest that he’s created around tennis,” he said.