Andy Murray has been knocked out of the Brisbane International in the first round after losing to Grigor Dimitrov in a bitter blow to the Brit's hopes of better fortune in 2024.
The former world No 1 had mixed fortunes last year as he climbed back up the rankings to as high as 36 in an attempt to be seeded at the majors.
His best chance at the majors was considered to be Wimbledon when he went into the tournament having won back-to-back titles in Surbiton and Nottingham.
But the British tennis icon lost in the second round of Wimbledon and he went another year not making it past the third round in any major.
Andy Murray was knocked out of the Brisbane International
GETTY
The last time Murray made it through to the quarter-finals of a major was back in 2017 when he was still ranked No 1 in the world.
And hopes of things improving in 2024 got off to a poor start in Brisbane with Murray losing to Dimitrov in his opening match.
Heading into the tournament, which he won in back-to-back years in 2012 and 2013, Murray admitted that 2024 could be his last before retiring if his results don't improve.
"If I was in a situation like I was at the end of last year, then I probably wouldn't go again," Murray told BBC.
"But then if physically I'm doing well and my results are good and I'm playing well, then that's enjoyable and I could see myself still playing.
"We'll see how the year goes, see how the body holds up.
"If things are going well, I'd love to keep going.
"But, if they're not, and I'm not enjoying it, it could be the last year, yes."
Murray's preparations for the new season were dealt a blow at the start of winter with injuries and illness preventing him from completing a full programme.
Andy Murray has threatened that 2024 could be his last year in tennis
GETTY
He added: "I had the shoulder injury before Davis Cup [in November] so I wasn't able to serve for a few weeks, and then there's obviously a gradual build-up to being able to serve full out.
"And also I got quite sick literally just as I was leaving to go to Dubai (for warm-weather training), so that made things a bit tricky - and I had a bruised meniscus in my knee which also restricted me from doing certain things.
LATEST SPORT NEWS:
Andy Murray is next in action at the Australian Open
GETTY
"I was able to still practice and do lots of training but it's just there was certain stuff I wasn't able to do - like playing points and full-out sprinting and changes of direction.
"So it's not been that straightforward but, the last 10 days or so, I've managed to get more of that in. There are signs in practice that my level is good enough."
