Worsley at the Aussie Open: Andy Murray leaves legacy of honesty to a fault

OPINION: What was always such an interesting career appears to have come to a close - at the Australian Open, at least - for Scotland's Andy Murray.

The five-time beaten finalist at Melbourne showed all of his famous fighting qualifies in the first round, eventually falling in five dramatic sets to Spaniard Roberto Bautistia Agut.

His hip injury is forcing the Scot to a somewhat premature end to a career, during which he became known for his ability to run down almost impossible shots and his historic win at Wimbledon in 2013 - the first British player to do so since Sir Fred Perry in 1936.

The immense pressure on Murray to win that title was difficult to explain, but it was an unlikely destiny for a scrapper from Scotland, not an upper-class snob from Somerset or Sussex.

Murray's great quality was that he never took himself seriously, but he learned quickly that what you say can also be taken the wrong way.

Esteemed Newshub news reader Geoff Bryan once inadvertently helped Murray into hot water. In 2006, as an 18-year-old, Andy Murray was a huge rising star, who came to Auckland and won a scrappy first-round clash over Dane Kenneth Carlsen at the then-Heineken Open.

Interviewed by Bryan, who was courtside MC, Murray made the comment that he "played like a girl", referring to the number of service breaks in the match. It was a throw away comment that Bryan, the crowd in attendance that day and New Zealand media didn't consider too dramatic.

But, wow, the British press nailed him to the cross for being a "sexiest tennis star" and everything else under the sun.

Perhaps that was the start of Murray not saying overly much and becoming almost monotone in his answers, although he did once apologise for not sounding interesting.

"No matter how excited I try to sound, my voice always sounds boring - that's just my voice," he shrugged, after winning the Sports Personality of the Year award at the 2013 BBC Sports Awards.

And maybe that's the best way to remember the 31-year-old 'Sir Andrew', who survived the 1996 Dunblane school massacre as a youngster, but couldn't keep going through hip injuries later in life.

Murray was always honest - whether in defeat or victory - during his three Grand Slam titles, two Olympic singles titles and Davis Cup victory for Britain.

He nearly left the door open after his latest defeat at the Australian Open, saying he could come back after a major operation, but that procedure may not work and he has to think about his future quality of life.

No matter what happens next, he was certainly an entertainer on court, and admired by many for his sheer guts and determination.

Dave Worsley is a Newshub sports reporter, covering his 21st Australian Open tournament.