Andy Murray admits coming days are key in effort to be fit for Wimbledon
Andy Murray hopes to play at Wimbledon but has said he is still recovering from an abdominal strain and only the next few days will tell him how close he is to full fitness as the championship approaches.
“The next couple of days are pretty important for me,” Murray said. “Obviously the plan is still to play. The injury is improving. I’ve had it rescanned and it’s progressing in the right way. But you can probably work out from the nature of the injury which shots it is that I’ve been struggling with and haven’t been able to practise.
“In the next few days I’ll start to increase that and test it out. Hopefully it’s recovered sufficiently.”
Murray sustained the injury in the Stuttgart final against Matteo Berrettini on 12 June, his first grass-court final since his Wimbledon victory in 2016, just after he forced last year’s Wimbledon finalist to a third set. Although he could still move competently, Murray was unable to serve properly in the third set.
Murray chose not to identify the shots most affected by his injury but said his practices have been limited. His serve and overhead are likely to be the most problematic.
“I’m feeling better than I was on the Sunday afternoon, evening,” Murray said. “Training has been going well in some aspects. With the nature of the injury, it’s not stopped me from practising. I’ve been able to do a lot of work on the court but there’s specific shots that I haven’t been able to practise yet. In the next couple of days we’ll start to do that.”
Such an injury is particularly frustrating for Murray considering the form he was in during his run to the Stuttgart final, as he defeated Nick Kyrgios and Stefanos Tsitsipas, the latter being his first win against a player ranked in the top five since 2016. He is choosing to focus on the positives, however, noting that his body struggled with the load precisely because he has not played consistently enough in recent years to string together six matches in nine days, as he did between his final in Stuttgart and the Surbiton semi-final.
“Everyone that I trust and respect in terms of their opinions on my game and my movement were very happy with how that side of things was going and progressing,” he said. “It’s frustrating to be in this position in the buildup to Wimbledon, but I’ve been in worse situations in recent years. The positive for me is that I’ve dealt with certainly worse issues in the last few years and handled them OK.”
Murray’s practice partners have included Stan Wawrinka and Dan Evans, with coach Ivan Lendl joining him in London. During the pre-event press conference in Eastbourne on Monday Evans said Murray “was playing pretty well” and looked to be enjoying his time on the court.
“The injury that I have is not a significant injury but it’s an injury that is tricky for tennis players,” Murray said. “You need to manage them well and do everything properly and respect it. I’ve done that so far. Hopefully that will pay dividends come Monday.”
As Murray continues to work his way back to full fitness, so does Emma Raducanu, who trained at Wimbledon on Monday as she bids to recover from a side injury sustained during her first match on grass, which ruled her out of the rest of the pre-Wimbledon events.