Andy Murray details why he won't retire as he discusses plans after 'satisfying' Dubai win

Andy Murray has shared the reason he keeps playing tennis after a gruelling first-round win at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. The world No 89 needed two hours and 51 minutes to overcome qualifier Christopher O'Connell 6-7(4) 6-3 7-5. It is Murray's first appearance in Dubai since 2017 when he clinched the title as the then-world No 1.

In the five years since his last appearance, he found himself sidelined from competition before undergoing a hip resurfacing surgery and mounting a comeback.

Coming into the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, the three-time Major champion finds himself up to world No 89 - his highest ranking since making his first attempt at a comeback in June 2018.

He faced Australian world No 158 O'Connell for the first time in his opening match on Monday, needing to mount a comeback from a set down to seal his 699th career win.

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After almost three hours on court to open the night session in the Middle East, the former world No 1 admitted he found the match frustrating at times before settling in and managing to turn things around.

"I mean I enjoyed the result. What went on in the middle, yeah not so easy," he said in his on-court interview.

"I was very frustrated early on in the match, couldn't quite find my game and he was dictating a lot of the rallies."

Explaining how he clinched victory in the end, the 34-year-old added: "I managed to serve a little bit better as the match went on which helped me a lot and yeah, just managed to tough it out at the end."

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