Andy can get back to his best – McEnroe
John McEnroe recalled the hip problems that dogged the latter part of his career as he expressed hope Andy Murray will be able to return to full health. Murray is set to play his first Grand Slam tournament in more than a year at the US Open as he continues his comeback from hip surgery in January. This will be the Scot’s fifth tournament back and there have been some encouraging signs, in particular three wins in Washington. But Murray is clearly still some way away from regaining his best form. McEnroe took a six-month break from tennis in 1986 partly because of hip problems, but never got back to the level he wanted to. The American, an ESPN analyst, said: “I felt like that time off would refresh me. “The plan, I’ve got to be honest, was to come back and be a better player. I thought there was another gear I could find, and I didn’t find it. It was tremendously disappointing and frustrating. “I never felt like I moved as well as I did in the first seven or eight years of my career. “That’s hard for that not to be in your head. Andy has had surgery. He’s extremely dedicated. “There’s a lot of fresh data out there to help players recover. Hopefully he’ll be able to get back to at least close to 100%. “He’s been out a full year. That’s a long time to miss. There’s a lot of emotions and frustration. Mentally it takes its toll. “Then physically, not knowing if a move is going to cause something that’s going to re-injure a part of your body that’s so essential to movement, what made Murray great in the first place. “It’s a somewhat sobering and frightening thought. But you also start to realise: ‘Hey, I love the sport’. You want to be back in the mix. I’m sure he’s excited. “I don’t know him well, but I know him well enough to know that he’s done, and will continue to do, everything he can to get back to as close to what he was as possible. Then he’ll be out there in some big matches. He’ll be able to appreciate all the effort he’s put in to get back.” All Murray’s fellow ‘bigfour’ rivals have returned from lengthy injury absences over the past couple of seasons to win Grand Slams, raising expectations of what is both possible and probable. Stan Wawrinka, like Murray a three-time Slam champion, has had a rockier road since coming back from knee surgery but, seven months on, is showing much more positive form. Murray, however, does not want to compare his recovery with those of his rivals. The Scot said: “All injuries are different. Some are more serious than others. “I haven’t really looked at them so much as an inspiration for a comeback. I’m trying to deal with the situation that I’ve been in as best as I can myself. “But I do feel that, once my body is right again, which takes time when you haven’t played many matches in a year, I’m sure that my level will be OK to get me competing at the top again.” Meanwhile, Serena Williams will no longer be allowed to wear her black bodysuit at the French Open. The former world No. 1 made an eye-catching return to the Grand Slam scene at Roland Garros in May after giving birth to her daughter in September 2017. However, French Tennis Federation president Bernard Giudicelli singled out Williams’ catsuit as an example of the kind of attire that will no longer be accepted as the tournament prepares to introduce new dress-code rules. “I think we sometimes went too far,” he said. “The combination of Serena this year, for example, it will no longer be accepted. You have to respect the game and the place.”