Scot might not play in a Slam until Wimbledon
Andy Murray’s late scrapping of plans to play in australia means that he may not be seen at a Grand slam until Wimbledon.
Even before he suffered what, on saturday night, he termed as a ‘setback’ to keep him out of next month’s australian Open, the 32-year-old scot had hinted his participation on clay this year might be strictly limited.
With Wimbledon offering him the best chance of deep progress at one of the majors, it is entirely possible he would skip the French Open to gain maximum preparation for the grass.
The immediate consequence of his withdrawal from next week’s aTP Cup team event in sydney was a call-up for former davis Cup stalwart James Ward.
Going forward, there inevitably will be further speculation about whether the body of Britain’s greatest player can stand the strain of intense training and competition at the highest level.
Murray admitted he was ‘gutted’ to have to withdraw. It was initially thought the issue was minor but alarm bells rang when he cancelled his training block in Miami.
‘I’ve worked so hard to get myself into a situation where I can play at the top level and I’m gutted I’m not going to be able to play in australia in January,’ said Murray.
‘after the australian Open this year, when I wasn’t sure whether I’d be able to play again, I was excited about coming back to australia and giving my best — and that makes this even more disappointing for me.
While Murray’s management described his absence from australia as a case of him being unable to recover quickly enough from pelvic bruising first reported last month, the player himself hinted that something more particular may have happened.
‘unfortunately, I’ve had a setback recently and as a precaution, need to work through that before I get back on court competing,’ he said via a Tennis australia statement.
His next tournament is now due to be the indoor aTP event at Montpellier at the start of February.
While Murray has emphasised the need to schedule himself smartly in this late phase of his career, after two hip operations, it would be a serious cause for concern if he does not make it back for then.
‘I know how excited andy was about coming back to compete in australia in January, and how disappointed he is not to make it for 2020,’ Tennis australia CEO Craig Tiley said.
‘andy’s last match at the australian Open was a five-set roller coaster that none of us who witnessed it will ever forget. His determination and iron will was on display for all to see and it’s that fighting spirit that has driven him to come back from a potentially career-ending injury to achieve the results he has this year.
‘although we will miss him in January, we wish him all the very best for his recovery and look forward to seeing him back on court very soon.’
In the meantime, his no-show in australia is a rude awakening for Tim Henman, who landed in sydney yesterday for what is his captaincy debut in the new 24-nation competition which comes, absurdly, hot on the heels of november’s davis Cup finals. Ward, now 32 and ranked 320 after struggling to climb the rankings following a series of knee problems, comes in to supplement the GB team of dan Evans, Cam norrie, Jamie Murray and Joe salisbury.
The likes of Jay Clarke and Liam Broady are higher ranked but did not put themselves down as available by the november deadline, unlike Ward. Teenager Jack draper would also have been considered but he also did not put himself on the list.
It is the same unsatisfactory process which means that obvious selection Kyle Edmund could not be picked because his ranking was falsely depressed last month. and, with others, he has committed to concurrent aTP events.
at least Ward has solid experience of team events in tennis.
When Britain won the davis Cup in 2015, he was the only player to win a singles point aside from the man he now replaces.
Britain play group matches against Bulgaria on January 3, Belgium on January 5 and Moldova on January 7, all in sydney.