Big-serving Murray upbeat; Svitolina to play in Germany

LONDON: Andy Murray says he is serving at full throttle again as he bids to rebuild his injuryravaged career when tennis returns after the coronavirus shutdown.

The three-time Grand Slam champion played his first tournament since last November at the Battle of the Brits event last week.

The ATP and WTA tours are due to return next month, with the US Open starting on Aug.31 and the French Open beginning a month later.

Murray, who is set to return to action at the Washington Open in mid-august, is planning to play both the Grand Slam events.

“Getting the US Open and the French Open played this year is a good thing, I think,” the 33-year-old told the BBC.

“It’s positive, I just don’t like the way the French Open went about scheduling their event.

“But we’re going to have to go back to playing at some stage. The most important thing is that the events are safe.”

Murray had career-saving hip surgery in 2019, before suffering another setback with a pelvic injury.

The British former world number one was upbeat about his fitness following the Battle of the Brits event, where he reached the semi-finals.

“I am able to serve well again and am able to serve as hard as I was in my mid-20s, which given I didn’t know I was going to be able to play again has been really positive,” he said.

“Obviously when you are able to serve bigger and harder, it means more shorter points -- and that means good news for the body and the hip. The harder I serve, the better it is for my other hip I guess.”

Meanwhile, up to 800 spectators per day will be allowed at a tennis exhibition in Berlin in mid-july, even after four players tested positive for the coronavirus after playing in a similar event fronted by Novak Djokovic.

Organizers of two tournaments in Berlin said on Tuesday the city health authorities have approved a limited number of spectators.

The maximum is set at 800 per day for a July 13-15 outdoor event on grass, and 200 per day for a hardcourt event in a hangar at the disused Tempelhof airport from July 17-19.

Organizers said it was the first sporting event in Germany to have spectators amid the coronavirus pandemic. Other sports such as Germany’s soccer and basketball leagues resumed in empty stadiums.

The Berlin events include two players, Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev, who were also at the Adria Tour exhibitions. They’re playing along with Nick Kyrgios, who was a sharp critic of Djokovic’s events on social media, as well as Jan-lennard Struff, Jannik Sinner and Tommy Haas.

The women’s field consists of Elina Svitolina, Kiki Bertens, Petra Kvitova, Julia Goerges, Caroline Garcia and Andrea Petkovic. The same players contest both the grass and hard-court events in Berlin.

There was little social distancing at top-ranked Djokovic’s Adria Tour series in the Balkans in recent weeks as some players were seen hugging each other and partying in nightclubs.