Murray could return to practice earlier than feared as surgery avoided
ANDY MURRAY will not have surgery on an ankle injury and his rehabilitation is progressing enough for him to think about a return to practice again soon.
The 36-year-old ruptured ligaments at last month’s Miami Open but he is now out of his protective boot.
A spokesperson from Murray’s team said the former world No.1’s “rehab is going well and he is hoping to start hitting again on court soon” but added that “he doesn’t have a date yet for returning to competition”.
Murray was injured late on in his third-round defeat by Tomas Machac at the Miami Open on March 24.
After crying out in pain and falling to the floor, he was able to complete the match following on-court treatment but revealed in an Instagram post that he had seriously damaged two ligaments in his left ankle.
The timing was cruel for the threetime grand slam champion, who had won back-to-back matches for the first time this year in Miami.
Murray has said he is unlikely to play beyond this summer as retirement looms ever nearer.
It is unclear if he will be fit for Wimbledon, which gets under way on July 1, while the Olympic Games in Paris – which the two-time gold medallist said he would like to play at – starts on July 26.
Rafael Nadal, meanwhile, will make his eagerly anticipated return to clay today after he confirmed his participation in the Barcelona Open and provided a further hint that 2024 will be his last on tour.
Nadal has been ravaged by injuries in recent years and announced last May his intention to retire at the conclusion of this season. The farewell tour for the 22-time grand-slam champion has failed to go to plan, though, after he had to pull out of the Australian Open in January due to a hip injury and subsequently missed ATP 1000 events in Indian Wells and Monte
Carlo. However, the 37-year-old will play at the Barcelona Open, where there is a court named after him, today against Italian youngster Flavio Cobolli, which will represent his first professional tie on clay since his 2022 Roland Garros triumph.
“No, I can’t give you an injury update because the list is long and I just want to think about what can happen,” Nadal said.
“I can only tell you that today I feel myself, good enough to be on court tomorrow and that for me is so important. It means a lot to me to be able to play one more time here in Barcelona, a place that I have amazing success and a lot of unforgettable memories. So, I am just trying to enjoy every moment and I am excited about being on court in a professional tournament again, especially here at home.”
Nadal has won this tournament a record 12 times but has only managed three competitive matches in 2024.
He did recently take part in an exhibition with compatriot Carlos Alcaraz, who will miss this week’s ATP 500 event due to a forearm injury.
Dan Evans’ poor clay-court season continued with a third consecutive defeat as he went down in straight sets to Brandon Nakashima in Barcelona.
Evans has endured a difficult 2024 as a whole, suffering a firstround exit at the Australian Open, and has now failed to make the quarter-finals in any of his nine tournaments this year.
After early exits on clay in Marrakesh and Monte Carlo, British No.3 Evans lost 6-7 (5), 2-6 to Nakashima in the Barcelona Open first round.
Jack Draper fared better in Munich as he beat Vit Kopriva in three sets to reach the last 16 of the BMW Open and claim his 50th ATP Tour victory in the process.
After the British No.2 rediscovered his composure, Draper was able to claim two breaks at the start of the third set before he a 6-1, 5-7, 6-4 success.