‘Win? I’ll be happy just to compete’
ANDY MURRAY has admitted all he is hoping for in his long-awaited comeback match against Nick Kyrgios today is to avoid humiliation.
The former world No1 will be back on a court in a competitive match for the first time after 342 days of misery when he takes on the mercurial Australian in the first round of the Fever Tree Championships at Queen’s Club.
Murray has not played competitively since Wimbledon last year because of hip problems which required surgery in January.
And even though he hopes to return to the All England Club this month, he has admitted it could be three or four months before he is fully back to his best – which effectively writes off the rest of this season.
“I’m not expecting to win against Kyrgios – I don’t think it would be right to think that way after such a long time out,” he said.
“Obviously I want to be competitive. I don’t want to just go out there, roll over and play badly. I want to try and play well and feel good on the court. But my expectations are pretty low.
“I’ll feel very nervous when I get back out there again just because you want to perform and play well.
“I don’t know if this week I will be playing well or if it will be in AT QUEEN’S CLUB three or four weeks’ time, but maybe in three or four months when I’ve had more matches under my belt and I’ve had training time, hopefully I’ll be able to get back to that level again.
“I don’t know so much if it’s about a result. It’s about getting back after such a long time out and proving to myself that I can still perform at this level.
“I’ve said quite openly that I’m motivated to play so that I can have my daughters come along and watch. I would really like that so at least before I stop they would have an understanding of what it is that I did.
“That’s really it, it’s not about winning major competitions. I would love to win Majors and I still hope that that’s the case, but it’s extremely hard to try and do that. It’s not the most important thing.”
Murray has been practising for weeks now but today will be his competitive comeback after missing the French Open and pulling out of a planned return at the Rosmalen tournament in Holland last week because he did not feel quite ready.
He has confessed this period – he finally went under the knife in Australia in January after six