I SHARE YOUR PAIN
Wawrinka has fitness warning for Murray as titans get set to clash
It is at Andy Murray’s request that he is playing on a Monday at Eastbourne, where this afternoon he faces fellow three-time Grand slam winner stan Wawrinka.
the last time they met it was a long way from this seaside situation, the bruising semi-final at last year’s French Open, which the burly swiss edged in five sets.
it was following that match that Murray’s hip issues began to surface and, as a result, these two habitual world top five players find themselves playing as wildcard entrants in the first round on unfamiliar territory.
Murray is ranked 156 and Wawrinka 261. the swiss has also contended with numerous physical problems since then and underwent two knee surgeries after Wimbledon that have proved difficult to come back from.
For the 31-year-old scot this will be a second outing after hip surgery, the first being his encouraging return last week when he ran Nick Kyrgios close.
it will be fascinating to see how he fronts up this afternoon. At Queen’s, Wawrinka recalled how he felt ‘dead’ for quite a few days after his own comeback match in Australia this January.
‘For sure when you start, your body starts to be off, even if you have no pain or nothing, because you’re just not used to playing that long,’ he said when asked about Murray (below). ‘i’m happy for him that he’s back on tour. it’s never easy when you’re not used to it.’
the scot’s preference to play today could offer him a day’s rest if he manages to win, or allow him to head home to his more accustomed setting of practising at Wimbledon during the week before the Championships. He has not ruled out playing Eastbourne and skipping Wimbledon.
Murray’s concern, along the lines of what Wawrinka talked about, is whether his body can withstand the rigours of five-set competition this soon into his comeback.
He has, however, been back on the practice court since his defeat to Kyrgios and was yesterday hitting with British No1 Kyle Edmund, who he could meet in the second round if he beats Wawrinka.
Meanwhile, Jamie Murray has decided not to defend his mixed doubles title at Wimbledon this year in order to concentrate on achieving his career ambition of winning the men’s doubles event.
the 32 year-old scot is not looking for a female partner following the retirement of Martina Hingis, alongside whom he won the event 12 months ago, adding to his win of 2007 when teamed up with Jelena Jankovic.
Yesterday, he and Brazilian partner Bruno soares, the defending champions, lost 6-4, 6-3 in the final of the Fever-tree Championships at Queen’s Club to second seeds John Peers and Henri Kontinen.
Aside from nursing a sore knee for much of this season, Murray — ranked 13 in the world — does not want anything to distract him from winning the men’s doubles, having come closest when losing in the 2015 final.
‘i’ve already won the mixed twice and that was great but i don’t want to have any regrets at the end of my career that i didn’t do everything to try to win the men’s,’ he said. ‘it’s purely down to priorities about what i want to achieve, so i haven’t been looking around to play with anyone.’
NiCK KYRGiOs was yesterday fined €15,000 for ‘unsportsmanlike conduct’ resulting from his actions in saturday’s Queen’s semi-final. While sitting during a changeover in his loss to Marin Cilic, the controversial Australian was caught on camera suggestively stroking his water bottle before squirting some water from it, leaving little to the imagination about what he was imitating.