The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Slam return step too far for Murray, says Henman
Tim Henman believes Andy Murray is heading in the right direction but admitted the grand slams may prove a step too far.
The former world No 1 played his first tournament of the year in Italy last week on the second-tier Challenger Tour, reaching the final before losing to Illya Marchenko.
It was a jarring sight seeing Murray battling away in a sports hall while the world’s best players competed in the Australian Open but an ill-timed bout of coronavirus prevented him from travelling to Melbourne, and the 33-year-old did not want to waste time.
He was still deciding yesterday whether to stay in Biella and compete in a second Challenger, while it was confirmed he will make his ATP Tour return at next week’s Open Sud de France in Montpellier.
Henman, who is working as a pundit for Eurosport during the Australian Open, said: “I watched some of his matches last week and spoke to (coach) Jamie Delgado and it’s great that he played five matches in six days.
“I think it also speaks volumes about his hunger and desire.
“It can’t be easy when you’ve got the Australian Open going on in the
background and you’re at a lower-level event.
“The more I’m seeing him compete, I think his movement is going in the right direction and so the more he can play matches and his body can recover, then I think the more opportunity he’s got of stepping up to the next level.
“When I look back to the tournament he won in Antwerp at the end of 2019, his movement is much
better now. If he could win that tournament, can he get back to win again on the main tour? I think he can.
“The slams, best of five sets and the recovery, I don’t know the possibilities there, he doesn’t know the possibilities, but he wants to give himself that opportunity to challenge himself.”
Andy’s brother Jamie stayed on course to meet Joe Salisbury in the semifinals of the men’s doubles
at the Australian Open. Salisbury and his American partner Rajeev Ram are the defending champions and the pair, who won their first grand slam title a year ago, squeezed through two tie-break sets against Australia’s John Peers and Michael Venus of New Zealand 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-4).
In the last eight, Salisbury and Ram will face Marcus Daniell of New Zealand and Philipp Oswald of Austria.
Murray has reunited with Brazilian Bruno Soares, with whom he lifted the trophy in Melbourne five years ago, and the pair are unbeaten so far after winning an ATP Tour title last week.
They lost the first set against Italian Simone Bolelli and Maximo Gonzalez of Argentina but fought back to win 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 6-4.
Heather Watson missed the chance to reach the women’s doubles quarter-finals with Canadian partner Leylah Fernandez.
Watson, who reached the second round of the singles last week, and Fernandez were beaten 6-3 6-2 by Canada’s Sharon Fichman and Giuliana Olmos of Mexico.
Meanwhile, Alfie Hewett reached his first Australian Open final in wheelchair singles after a 6-3 6-4 victory over top seed Shingo Kunieda.
The 23-year-old is going for his fifth grand slam singles title having won two titles each at the French Open and US Open.
There will be no allbritish final, though, after Scot Gordon Reid lost 4-6 7-5 6-3 to Joachim Gerard in the other semi-final.
Reid and Hewett will go for a fifth consecutive slam title in doubles, with the pair battling to a 6-1 4-6 10-7 victory over Kunieda and Gustavo Fernandez.