And then, once the Olympics are done (the finals are scheduled for Aug 4), it is almost time for the US Open, which starts three weeks after that. Again, Murray has plenty of previous in New York, where he not only won his maiden major (2012) but also claimed his lone junior major (2004). In his autobiography, he described that junior title as “the moment when I felt I could be one of the best players in the world”.
My money, then, is on Murray emulating Serena Williams’s 2022 US Open farewell tour – even if he is unlikely to receive quite the overwhelming fanfare that she did. Indeed, it’s eminently possible that he might wave farewell at the same tournament as his great friend and role model Rafael Nadal.
All of this theorising may yet be rendered irrelevant by events – whether a delightful surprise such as a major semi-final, which could perhaps persuade Murray to finish on an upbeat note, or one more catastrophic injury. It’s also possible he could look at civilian life, find it unacceptably lacking in adrenaline, and barrel on regardless into 2025.
But the reality is that, unless Murray achieves a step change in his performance levels, he will struggle to progress far beyond his present position on the fringes of the world’s top 50. That was where he began 2023, and where he finished.
Speaking to BBC Sport in Brisbane, Murray acknowledged the second half of last season – a period in which he won seven of his 14 matches – had been a struggle, and admitted that he wouldn’t be able to put himself through much more of the same thankless striving.
Yet his road is unlikely to grow easier. The tour’s levels of power and athleticism climb with each successive season, while a man with a metal hip remains an anomaly in professional sport.
As we look back at Murray’s late-period efforts, one suspects that Wimbledon 2023 will go down as the perfect send-off that never quite materialised.
For once, he was on the verge of an open draw, with clay court specialist Laslo Djere lining up as a potential third-round opponent, followed by the little-known Chris Eubanks in the last 16. But Murray lost a nail-biter to Stefanos Tsitsipas on the first Friday, despite having led by two sets to one overnight.
The disappointment of that near-miss – in which he was hindered by some unsympathetic scheduling from the All England Club, as well as one disastrous line call from the officials – haunted Murray for the rest of the season.
Having defied both precedent and medical opinion in his recovery from hip resurfacing, all he really wants is one big moment of validation. Yet such fairy tales tend to elude ageing tennis players (with such rare exceptions as Pete Sampras, who called time after his fifth US Open victory in 2002).
While Murray will be remembered as one of Britain’s finest athletes, his post-surgical career has been a tale of courage rather than high achievement. A swansong in New York, should it come to pass, would be a worthy way of concluding two unforgettable decades on the tour.