Andy Murray gave an indication that his tennis career may not in fact be over, as he rolled back the years with a fightback in the Australian Open first round.

In what was thought to be his final Grand Slam match he came from two sets down to eventually lose in five sets to Roberto Bautista Agut.

The Dunblane star, who is still hoping to play at Wimbledon, battle back  before losing 6-4 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-7 (4-7) 6-2.

Murray said he will make a decision over whether he will undergo hip surgery immediately in the next week. If he goes ahead it would almost certainly rule him out of this year's Wimbledon.

The Herald:

But in an emotional ending the 31-year-old three-time Grand Slam champion indicated that he may make a comeback after an operation on his troublesome hip.

"If this was my last match, it was an amazing way to end," he said.

"I gave everything I had - it wasn't enough tonight."

In his on-court interview he said there there was still a chance he could make a return to Melbourne.

"Maybe I'll see you again. I'll do everything possible to try," he said, with his voice quivering with emotion.

"If I want to go again, I'll need to have a big operation, which there's no guarantee I'll be able to come back from anyway, but I'll give it my best shot."

He then watched as some of the greats of tennis paid him tribute in a court big screen montage.

“You’ve done Scotland proud, you’ve done Britain proud, you’re a sir - who can say that?” Roger Federer said. 

Novak Djokovic, remembered the time Murray “kicked my butt” at Wimbledon in 2013. “Thank you always for leaving your heart and every last drop of energy on the court,” the world No1 added.

And there was a tribute from his opponent. Bautista Agut, who added: “Today was incredible. Andy deserves this atmosphere.

"Andy deserves all the people who came to watch him. It was an unbelievable match. He is a tough fighter. He gave everything he had until the last point and I want to congratulate him for everything he did for tennis.”

Later in his post-match press conference Murray explained left the door open for a return at some point should surgery be a success. 

"It’s not really based on time really," he said. "You know, the reason for having, like I said the other day, for having the operation first and foremost is to improve your quality of life.

The Herald:

"You have to allow bones to heal and muscles to recover properly to give the operation the best chance of improving your quality of life.

"So me trying to get on a tennis court after two months and stuff just because I’m trying to get ready for Wimbledon might not be the best thing for my health in the future. ‘So I need to kind of, if I have it, like just let it be, do the rehab properly, respect healing times, not rush anything. I mean, I don’t know exactly how long it would be."

He said his two options were to take the next four-and-a-half months off and play Wimbledon or go for the operation immediately.

"Look, I mean, although tonight was not comfortable in terms of my hip. At the end, I mean, I’m really struggling. I can’t walk properly at all just now," he said.

"I could play another match, but if I want to try to play again, I want to improve my quality of life, because even if I take four months, I still can’t walk. I’m still in pain doing just basic day-to-day things.

"But having an operation like that, there’s absolutely no guarantees I’d be able to play again. I’m fully aware of that. It’s a really big operation. There’s no guarantees that you can come back from that.

"I mean, I’ll probably decide in the next week or so. But that’s what I was saying the other day, that this might be my last match."

Murray admitted he would be satisfied if the epic contest on the Melbourne Arena did turn out to be his final professional match.

The Herald:

"If I go ahead with the operation, I don’t recover well from it, then I don’t play again,’ he added.

"I’m aware of that. That is the decision that I have to make.

"It will improve my quality of life, I’ll be in less pain doing just, you know, normal things like walking around and putting your shoes and socks on and things.

"Just now, like, going to walk my dogs, playing football with my friends, is like the worst thing I can think of doing. Like I hate it because it’s so sore and it’s uncomfortable.

"Yeah, waiting another five or six months to do something like that is just another, you know, period of where I’m really uncomfortable.

"Yeah, I just don’t really know yet. But, you know, if today was my last match, look, it was a brilliant way to finish, as well. That’s something that I’ll probably take into consideration, as well.

"It was an amazing atmosphere. I literally gave everything that I had on the court, fought as best as I could, and performed a lot better than what I should have done without the amount I’ve been able to practice and train, you know, whatever.

"I’d be okay with that being my last match."

The Herald:

An emotional Andy Murray said on Friday that the 2019 Australian Open could be his final event as a player, as he contemplates retirement due to a long-standing hip injury.

The former world number one struggled through a practice match against Novak Djokovic on Thursday ahead of the tournament starting in Melbourne next week.