Murray could miss Wimbledon as fears grow over his recovery from injury
Fears grow over Scot’s recovery from hip injury
FEARS are growing that Andy Murray may not recover from injury in time for the grass-court season, including his much-anticipated return at Wimbledon.
The 30-year-old Scot’s name appeared on yesterday’s entry list for the Fever Tree Championships at Queen’s next month, but major doubts remain over whether he will be able to play.
That would, in turn, jeopardise any prospect of a Wimbledon appearance, with sources around the Murray camp saying he has scaled back his training in recent weeks as he attempts to make his comeback following January’s hip surgery.
His original plan of returning to action at the Loughborough Challenger, which starts on May 21, now looks off the table.
The official word from the Murray team has amounted to little more than vague references to ‘peaks and troughs’ as he tries to reach full fitness and compete properly for the first time since reaching Wimbledon’s quarterfinals last July.
The former world No1 has also cancelled more than one corporate appearance in recent weeks, while regulars at the All England Club have not seen him since he travelled to the Mouratoglou Academy in Nice in late March to re-start on-court practising.
Murray fans have also been notably starved of any social media updates about his fitness.
In the days after his original operation on January 8 was deemed a success, Murray was far more active on his Twitter and Instagram accounts.
However, it appears the road back to competitive tennis has become more bumpy since he tried to step up the intensity of his training.
If he was making a singles comeback at Loughborough — a new event in the East Midlands largely created with Murray in mind — then he would by now be playing practice sets and grinding hard on the practice court.
Murray remains officially entered at the grass court ATP event in Rosmalen, Holland, beginning on June 11, and at Queen’s the week after that.
Although grass is the surface he moves most comfortably on, if he were to miss those tournaments then he would be faced with coming back in best-of-five combat at Wimbledon, where he limped away last summer after his hip injury flared up.
He is also entered for the Citi Open in Washington DC on July 28, but being on the list and actually playing are two entirely separate things.
While no two hip injuries are the same, they are highly problematical for tennis players, given the mechanics of shot-making and the reliance on abrupt switches of direction. There is no question over Murray’s desire to return but, if he feels close to competitive fitness, one option might be to try to play doubles only.
Rafael Nadal, who has repeatedly come back from knee issues, reported in Monte Carlo last month that Murray had rung him for advice on matters, albeit he would not disclose what those were.
Murray turns 31 next week but, increasingly, it looks like he will not be marking his birthday with an imminent return to action.
Meanwhile, captain Leon Smith is delighted that Davis Cup action is returning to his home city in September when Great Britain’s relegation play-off against Uzbekistan is staged at Glasgow’s Emirates Arena.
It is GB’s first home tie since they lost a semi-final to Argentina at the same venue in 2016 and will be the third time in the last five home matches that Smith’s side have visited Glasgow.
Britain must win to extend their stay in the elite World Group to a sixth straight year after losing to Spain in the first round in February.
Despite the loss, it was an encouraging weekend for Smith’s men, with Cameron Norrie making a terrific debut in the absence of Murray and Kyle Edmund.
Both could potentially be back for the clash, to be held from September 14-16, but Uzbekistan represent one of the weaker teams Britain could have played and it would be a major upset if the hosts were defeated.
Smith said: ‘We are delighted to be going back to the Emirates Arena in September. It feels like our team’s home away from home at this stage with the amazing staging and support we have received there over the years.
‘The fans will play a vital role in helping our players over the line in what will be a critical tie to maintain our position in the World Group.’