The longstanding perception that British tennis wasted Andy Murray’s ascent to the upper reaches of the game over the past decade was given further substance by the Scot’s older brother, Jamie, at the Australian Open on Wednesday.

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“My greatest worry was that he would stop one day, which obviously feels like it’s been probably accelerated,” he said, “and you would look around the country, whether that’s Scotland or the whole of the UK, and there wouldn’t be much to show for everything he’s put into his career and the success that he’s had and the interest that he’s created around tennis.

“If you go around the country, you probably see that. And that is sad because how on earth are you going to grow a sport if you can’t do it when you’ve got one of the biggest stars in tennis for the last 10 years, and one of Britain’s most prominent sportspeople?”

The question was as pointed as it was rhetorical. As the younger Murray said after losing in the first round on Monday– probably his farewell appearance – it is remarkable that playing numbers have dropped during his time in the game.

The root causes of how the Lawn Tennis Association has failed to capitalise on the former world No 1’s success – as well as that of his brother and a handful of other highly ranked players – are complicated. But funding is at the heart of the problem.

As Jamie Murray pointed out before his first doubles match of the 2019 Australian Open on Thursday, much depends still on circumstances, personal sacrifice and access to facilities.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Andy Murray during his first-round defeat at the Australian Open on Monday. Photograph: Ella Ling/BPI/Rex/Shutterstock

Describing their early years in Dunblane, he said: “It is an amazing story. We’ve come from a small town in Scotland, 8,000 people max. Our mum obviously tried to do what she could to create opportunities for us and for the other players, first at Dunblane and then on a more national level.

“Our parents made incredible sacrifices for us, working Monday to Friday and then getting in the car and then driving us down to England for the weekend, play tournaments, come back, back to work, do the same thing again.

“We were obviously fortunate that we had indoor courts close to us – a lot of people in Scotland don’t have access to that – so we could continue playing through the winter in better situations, I guess.

“But to go from that to getting to the top of the game and winning grand slams ... he did 11 grand slam finals, it’s incredible, really. Helping us to win Davis Cup for the first time in however many years, it’s a pretty decent achievement.”

Murray said his most memorable moment alongside his brother was playing Davis Cup doubles against Australia in Glasgow in 2015.

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“There have been so many amazing moments. I wasn’t there when he won Wimbledon for the first time [in 2013]. Probably, the Davis Cup matches in Scotland [were the highlight moments]. The reception, the support. The Australia one was amazing. Playing with him. The way we were able to get through that match. That was cool. I would put that one up there.”

As for his brother’s uncertain future, Murray said: “Honestly I don’t know. I really don’t know. He’s obviously got to go and do his surgery, which is a pretty big surgery to get.

“Other athletes have done that surgery and come back to do their sport – I don’t know how successfully or at what level they’re playing at. Bob Bryan’s had the surgery that Andy’s got and he’s back playing now, but obviously it’s a lot easier to do that in doubles rather than singles. So, we’ll see.

“For me, I just hope that, whatever happens, he can get back to just regular life, pain free, and be able to enjoy himself and not be in constant pain. If he’s able to come back and play tennis, if that’s what he wants to do, then I’m sure he’ll give it everything he can. But I think for me it’s just important that he gets back to regular life. I hope obviously, if he does get surgery, that that does go well for him.”

Andy is expected in the next few days to decide whether to have top-surface surgery, possibly in the United States, or to wait, try to stay fit without it and have one last match at Wimbledon this summer – or maybe more.