Andy Murray refused to give up on his career after suffering his earliest Wimbledon exit at the hands of king of aces John Isner.
The two-time champion was blown off Centre Court in four sets by the 6’10 American - who fired 36 aces in a close to three-and-a-half hour masterclass.
A dejected Murray said: “I feel disappointed right now. Obviously I wanted to do well here. I love playing at Wimbledon, a surface that I feel like I can still compete with the best guys on.
"It definitely, definitely hurts.
“I came in feeling I could have a deep run but that match was won or lost on a few points here and there and I didn't play well enough on those.
“It’s frustrating because I was in a really good place physically and my game was in a good spot."
Asked if he would definitely be back for a 15th Wimbledon next year, the Scot stopped short of offering any guarantee.
“It depends on how I am physically,” he said. “If physically I'm in a good place, yeah, I will continue to play.
“But it's extremely difficult with the problems I've had with my body in the last few years to make long-term predictions about how I'm going to be even in a few weeks' time, never mind in a year's time.
"It's not easy to keep my body in optimal condition to compete at the highest level.”
Isner paid a heartfelt tribute to Murray after booking a third round tie against 20-year-old Italian 10th seed Jannik Sinner.
“This was one of the biggest wins of my career,” he said.
“To play as well as I did against one of our greatest players ever, Andy Murray, was a huge accomplishment for me.
"He’s a massive inspiration to every one of us in the locker room. We’re so lucky to still have him around.
“I had an incredible serving day and I need every single bit of it to beat him.”
