MURRAY SEEKS DUTCH TREAT IN SUMMER COMEBACK

ANDY MURRAY admits he is taking things gently, but has added a new tournament to his tentative summer schedule in a further indication of optimism about his comeback. The 30-year-old plans to play outside the UK for the first time in his career during the pre-Wimbledon period at the Libema Open, at Rosmalen in Holland. It takes place in the week of June 11-17, between the end of the French Open and the Fever Tree Championships at Queen’s. Committing to a tournament and being fit enough to play it are two separate things, but it comes at a time when Murray has just returned to the practice courts, hitting with Scottish junior prospect Aidan McHugh at the Mouratoglou Academy in Nice. Murray has already posted pictures of himself in training with one of the hashtags marked ‘progress’. In a brief interview on the Academy’s Facebook page, he said: ‘I’m happy to be here training again, I’ve missed playing, I’ve not been fit for a long time. I’m having to go very slowly but I’m happy to be back on the court.’ The official press release says he will ‘continue his comeback from injury’ at the Rosmalen tournament, which offers £600,000 in prize money. While it is early days, Murray has his eye on a new Challenger event, staged indoors at Loughborough on a hard court, in the week starting May 19 prior to Roland Garros as a potential venue for his return. A similar event in Glasgow at the end of next month may come too soon. He has not played a competitive match since the quarter-finals of Wimbledon last July and underwent hip surgery on January 8.