Andy Murray to retire from tennis, will play in Australian Open

Jan. 10 (UPI) -- Former world No. 1 tennis player Andy Murray fought back tears while announcing his plan to retire this year.

Murray met with reporters during a press conference for the Australian Open on Thursday. The British tennis star was emotional throughout the media session, at one point leaving to collect himself.

Murray confirmed he will play in the Australian Open, which begins on Jan. 14. He hopes to play the final tournament of his career at Wimbledon in July, but admitted that Melbourne could be the final event of his career.

"Wimbledon is where I would like to stop playing, but I am not certain I am able to do that," Murray told reporters. "I'm not sure I can play through the pain for another four or five months."

The three-time Grand Slam winner has struggled with injuries the past few years and cited a lingering hip injury as the most problematic. Murray said he met with his surgeon this week and has considered undergoing another operation on his hip that is more serious than the hip surgery he had last January.

"Not feeling good," Murray said to reporters. "Been struggling for a long time. Been in a lot of pain for 20 months now. Pretty much done everything that I could to try and get my hip feeling better and it hasn't helped.

"I think there is a chance the Australian Open is my last tournament."

Murray is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and has 45 total ATP titles. He has reached the Australian Open Finals five times (2010-11, 2013, 2015-16) in his career.

The 31-year-old Murray faces Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut on Monday in the Round of 128.