Murray back on court but ‘still in pain’
ANDY MURRAY arrived promptly in Australia to begin his preparations for next month’s season opening Grand Slam – but warned that his hip problems are still with him.
The 31-year-old Scot had a 30-minute hit at the site of the Brisbane International with US Open women’s champion Naomi Osaka. He left the UK on Christmas night to head for the Queensland event, one of several tournaments marking the opening week of the ATP Tour season.
It will be Murray’s first appearance since wrapping up his truncated season at Shenzen in late September to do further work on the injury that has hindered him since a year last summer.
Issuing a brief progress report after a lengthy pre-Christmas training stint in Miami, the twice Wimbledon champion was still cautious about his prospects, while confirming that he has made a certain amount of progress.
‘I still have some pain in my hip but I need to play matches and see how it feels when I am able to play three, four, five matches in a row and take it from there,’ he told The Courier Mail.
For Murray it is a return to a venue where he attempted to play a year ago before pulling out and having surgery in Melbourne the following week.
‘I was struggling quite a lot. It definitely feels a bit better than it did coming last year. I’ve always loved playing here.
‘I’m in a better place than I was a few months ago. I would just like to get through the tournaments and feel like I am able to compete and not be restricted by my hip.’
Rafael Nadal is confident he can be fit for the Australian Open as he chases an 18th Grand Slam title.
A right knee injury forced Nadal to retire from his US Open semifinal in early September – his last competitive match – and the 32year-old Spaniard had ankle surgery at the start of November.
Asked on Thursday to assess his fitness level out of 10 ahead of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi, Nadal replied: ‘I don’t know . I am not that good with numbers.
‘I started about two weeks ago and I am taking small steps forward.
‘I am just making sure I am moving forward and it’s not a step backwards. I know I have time to be ready for Melbourne at 100 percent.’
Nadal, who won his 17th Grand Slam at the French Open in June, said he was happy with his progress, ‘but of course I need to prove myself in competitions and hopefully, playing here will help me take the first steps.’
Meanwhile, Serena Williams, who is also in Australia, has welcomed the new WTA rule giving more help to mothers returning to the tour. They can now enter 12 tournaments using a protected ranking over a three-year period, and will not have to face a seeded player in the first round.
‘Women that are younger can go out there and have kids and not have to worry about it, and not have to wait until the twilight of their years to have children, I think it’s a really great rule,’ she said.
‘I think having gone through the experience myself really opened my eyes. Would have I done it sooner had there been different rule changes?
‘I don’t know. But now there is an opportunity, people don’t have to ask that question.’