We’ve an early payout for those who kept the faith with Andy Murray

Andy Murray, known more for venting his emotions on the court than off it, announced his plans to retire from tennis in a tearful press conference before the Australian Open serves up this week.

And though the Scot may be understandably down in the dumps, we see no reason why those who backed him for the upcoming Grand Slam tournament should feel the same – so we’ve made the call to pay out on all singles and each-way online bets placed on him to win the competition outright.

A grand total of 56 customers kept the faith in Andy Murray and had him backed to win the Australian Open. So we’ve rewarded them by paying it out as a winner! pic.twitter.com/qZjZGwSfBl

— Paddy Power (@paddypower) January 11, 2019

The 31-year-old has suffered a string of injuries in recent years that have knocked him down from the world’s elite and now says the pain of playing is too much to bear.

“I want to get to Wimbledon and stop but I’m not certain I can do that.” he said. “The pain is too much really.”

“I need to have an end point because I’m playing with no idea of when the pain will stop.”

Murray’s made the final five times in Melbourne, but never made it over the last hurdle to claim the men’s singles crown, but he’s had plenty to celebrate in a glittering career.

He became the first British male player to claim the Wimbledon title in 77 years with his victory at the All-England Club in 2013 when he fought off Novak Djokovic in titanic clash:

And reclaimed it in 2016 with a straight sets win over Milos Raonic, and also snaffled a US Open winner’s garland.

He’s also done his bit for Team GB, leading them to a Davis Cup win in 2015 – again, a first win since 1936!

And then there was the small matter of two Olympic gold medals thrown in as well.

Hey “Tiger” Tim, how’s that for a record?

We’re gutted to see the Slam-winning Scot have to bow out before his time, though hopefully the grass-court goliath can make it back one last time to the sie of his greatest achievements for a fitting final send off.

*Applies to bets placed online only prior to 11:15am on January 11th, 2019