THANKS, KIM!
Flying Murray says he’d never have got back on court without wife’s support
Forty miles and nearly four years from a great win, Andy Murray was last night back on court in Belgium, seeking to complete his four-week comeback tour.
the atmosphere in Antwerp’s draughty Sportspaleis was far removed from that when he led Great Britain to Davis Cup final glory, nearby in Ghent, but playing in the European open first round was a triumph of sorts.
the 32- year- old, who beat Belgian wildcard Kimmer Copperjans — the world No 158 — 6-4, 7-6, has largely conquered the hip problems that threatened to truncate his career but, in the bowels of this makeshift tennis stadium, he is also keen to give credit elsewhere.
Notably to his wife Kim without whom, he reveals, he would probably never have got back to this stage. She is expecting their third child this month and he is pleased to be a relatively short train journey away.
‘there have been a number of times in the last two years that I could have stopped,’ he says. ‘I was like, “I don’t want to do this any more”. But Kim was always trying to keep me going, to help get me back on the court, stay motivated, happy for me to go and train and be away. there are times when you don’t notice it as much, but now I’m through the other side, I realise how difficult that is for everyone around you.
‘Sometimes you’re selfish and thinking just about yourself and, “God, I’m in this much pain”, but also there are people around you who are going through that as well, and there are lots of conversations I’m not part of that my family is having with my team.’
Not for the first time, Murray is grateful that Kim, daughter of renowned British coach Nigel Sears, grew up familiar with the demands of his career.
‘through most of my career it’s been like that, just very understanding of everything I’ve done, like going away for training blocks in Miami after a really long year. We don’t get to see each other all the time and it does make a big difference when you don’t have that drama in your personal life.
‘She has been brilliant, allowed me to pursue my career and been unbelievably supportive. I’ve been very lucky. My family are just happy seeing me back on the court pain-free again. It’s been an amazing few months, really.’
you notice a subtle shift in Murray’s language that has occurred in that time. He talks of being in a ‘good place’, and of ‘wanting to enjoy these last few years on the tour’. the doubts are slowly evaporating, although he knows it will never be quite the same again for an athlete once timed as being even quicker off the mark in his first few paces than Usain Bolt.
Murray and his team have been constantly evaluating how close he can get back to that after two major hip operations. He will do more tests before re- emerging to play in next month’s Davis Cup finals. ‘When I started playing singles again, I felt a bit lost, because when someone hit a big shot into the corner I didn’t feel I could accelerate,’ he said. ‘I was often arriving late and having to defend immediately.
‘But in China, when I watched some of the matches back, my movement felt more normal. It was at a level where I could be competitive. My strength is as good as it always was. But if I take a few days off, the engine takes a little longer to get going nowadays.’
It may be that the biggest gift from this final chapter will be to give hope to people suffering hip problems. Giles Stafford, one of Britain’s leading hip surgeons and a sport specialist, says Murray’s recovery is being followed by his peer group and the people they treat.
‘It has created a huge amount of interest in our group. It has been notable the amount of patients who come in wanting to know about Andy and what has worked for him,’ he told Sportsmail. ‘While I have not been hugely surprised that it has been a success so far, there is an element of entering unknown territory in his case, because we are learning all the time. there have been issues in the past with metal rubbing against metal, but as long as the metal does not disperse from the hip he should be all right.
‘the signs are pretty good. What he is doing is inspiring — some people don’t realise that hip resurfacing is actually a type of hip replacement and Andy is showing what is possible after hip replacement surgery.’