No Andy return but he’s upbeat
ANDY MURRAY last night admitted defeat in his efforts to return to action next week, while insisting there is still a chance he will play during the grasscourt season. The 31-year-old Scot announced his withdrawal from the Libema Open in Rosmalen, Holland, but did not rule out being fit for the Fever-Tree Championships at Queen’s nor Wimbledon, which begins on July 2. ‘It is with regret that I won’t be ready to play in Hertogenbosch (Rosmalen),’ he said. ‘I was excited to play there for the first time, but I am not quite ready to return. I am still aiming to play in the coming weeks but I want to be 100 per cent when I do return.’ Earlier yesterday, during a plug for his car sponsor, he had given a brief update. ‘I’m getting closer to playing again,’ he said. ‘I have started training a few days ago, hoping to make my comeback during the grasscourt season. It has been very slow, I’ve been out getting close to a year now which is a lot longer than I expected.’ While pointing at Roger Federer as an obvious contender for Wimbledon he added: ‘I’m hoping I will be there.’ As ever, the twice Wimbledon champion has been deliberately vague about the progress of his injury. At least he is back training, but it is entirely possible that these statements may constitute a triumph of hope over expectation. This is, after all, the fourth time since last year’s Wimbledon quarter-final that Murray (below) has made late withdrawals. There was the US Open last September, then the Brisbane International in early January, followed by the Australian Open. Decoding his public statements can be tricky, such as when the Australian Grand Slam issued a press release quoting him saying that he was heading back to the UK ‘to assess all the options’. It turned out he would have surgery in Melbourne. What is clear is that if he has only just resumed training after stepping away from the court last month then he has little time to get himself into optimal shape, even on a surface to which he is so attuned. As a coach who knows Murray well pointed out, his preferred modus operandi has always been to heavily ‘load up’ training and practice-wise before important phases of the season. Leaving no stone unturned has always been a key component of his approach. It remains unclear the extent to which he will be able to prepare. And grass is not the easiest surface on which to start back, given the slick nature of the courts in the opening days. Yet it is a positive development that he has resumed practice and, as Murray has shown many times before, when he sets his mind to something he can surprise a lot of people.