Murray on track for June return

ANDY Murray remains on schedule to make his comeback from hip surgery at next month’s Libema Open, according to tournament director Marcel Hunze.

The two-time Wimbledon champion’s recovery from the January operation is believed to have suffered a setback.

But Hunze, who runs the event that takes place from June 11-17 in Den Bosch, expects Murray (31) to compete.

“After consulting his team, we don’t have any reason to doubt his participation,” he said. “Andy is on the entry list. We are looking forward to welcoming him here for his comeback.”

The Dutch grass court event is followed by London’s Queen’s Club (June 18-25) and then Wimbledon (July 2-15).

Meanwhile, Maria Sharapova’s run to the Italian Open semi-finals has earned her an 11-place jump to 29th in the latest WTA Tour rankings released yesterday.

While Sharapova was moving up the charts, Elina Svitolina remained at No.4 despite her successful title defence in Rome.

Beaten finalist Simona Halep retains her No.1 spot with Caroline Wozniacki in second and Garbine Muguruza in third.

For Sharapova, this jump came after her 12-rung climb following her progress to the quarter-finals in Madrid the week before.

The Russian former World No.1 and five-time Grand Slam champion is hitting her stride at the right time with the French Open starting on Monday.

Elsewhere, British No.3 Cameron Norrie beat Jose Hernandez-Fernandez of the Dominican Republic 7-6 (7-5) 6-1 in the first round of the Lyon Open.

Norrie, who is ranked 102nd in the world, had opened up a 3-1 lead in the first set following an early break, but failed to hold onto his own serve in the seventh game as Hernandez-Fernandez rallied.

Both players continued to struggle on serve in the tie-break, but Norrie finally wrapped up the opening set.

The 21-year-old then raced through the second set.

The Briton will next take on either sixth-seeded Frenchman Gael Monfils or German Maximilian Marterer.

Closing in: Andy Murray is set to return in June’s Libema Open