Murray’s mind willing, but the body might not be able just yet

HERE’S the good news. Andy Murray knows what style of play will give him the best chance to get back to the top of the game after hip surgery. The bad news is he may not be able to implement it until his body allows it.

On his return to grand slam tennis after 14 months, Murray showed he had lost none of his battling qualities as he scrapped his way past Australian James Duckworth in four sets at the US Open on Monday.

But though he knows the way he wants to play, the rehabilitation required is so time-consuming, at the moment, that it may be some time before he can show it on the match court.

“There are things that I want to focus on, longer term, that is going to be beneficial for my game, a game style that I would like to be playing,” said Murray, who plays Spaniard Fernando Verdasco in round two at Flushing Meadows today.

“It’s quite clear the way I’m trying to play. But you need to go into matches with a strategy. Otherwise it makes things a bit trickier.”

Murray moved better as his match with Duckworth went on, though it was clear to see he is a distance away from where he would like to be, especially when drawn wide on his forehand.

During the US Open, his routine is different but the week before arriving in New York, he was spending up to seven hours per day on the hip.

“Last week when I was rehabbing after Cincinnati, I [did] two-and-a-half hours in the morning, and then an hour and a half in the pool in the afternoon, and then on top of that, treatment, which can be anywhere from two to three hours. Pretty intense.”

That leaves little time to work on his game enough to be a genuine contender, something he admitted as he prepares to face Verdasco.

“I would have been able to train and practice a lot more than I have done,” he said. “I would have played more matches in the build-up to the tournament. There are many things I would have wanted to change to be considered a contender.

“I don’t think anything changes after today. I’m still just taking it one match at a time. This is the first time I have played four sets in 14 months so I just have to wait and see how I pull up. Hopefully I feel good and take it from there.”