MURRAY: I’D NO KO FEARS
Andy Murray last night insisted he never doubted he’d return to tennis. But he revealed he has no expectations as he prepares for his comeback after a year out at Queen’s Club this week. The Scot, 31, last played a competitive match last July at Wimbledon and
had hip surgery in January. The three- time Grand Slam champ has been handed a super-tough comeback clash with Aussie World No. 24 Nick Kyrgios in the first round at Queen’s on Tuesday.
But despite admitting to having a few nerves and uncertainty over what the future holds for him he can’t wait to get back on the court.
Murray said: “I’m looking forward to getting back out there and competing and hopefully playing well.
“Always in back of my mind I thought I would come back and play.
“I was in a pretty bad place at Wimbledon last year. I couldn’t really walk there but still made the quarterfinals. My feeling was if I could get myself better, not necessarily perfect or where I was 10 years ago, but if I could get back to where I was competitive I would come back.
“I managed to do well when I was really bad so I always thought I could come back. I have zero expectations at al l , for how I play or how I do right now. I think that’s going to take some time.
“If I drew Federer in the first round of Wimbledon, that’s a very difficult draw.
“But I don’t have huge expectations for how I am going to perform because of how long I have been out. Maybe that will help me.
“In sport, ideally you play to win. But when you have been away from something that you love doing for a year, you kind of realise... When you are away from the sport for a long time, you look at things a little bit differently.
“I’d love to get back to the top of the game, absolutely.
“I train and do all of those things to give me the best chance to do that. But if not, that’s OK. It’s not the end of the world if I don’t. I just want to be playing again.”
Murray added: “I need to try to be patient – it will be a time before I’m feeling my best. Tuesday is like another stage in the rehab.
“There are no guarantees about how you’re going to feel after a match.”