MURRAY MISSION
Andy jets to Abu Dhabi for practice before late call on Australian Open
Andy Murray was last night flying out in the direction of australia, though there is still no certainty that he will be playing in the tournaments there next month.
The Scot has decided to travel to abu dhabi for further practice before deciding what his next move will be.
The Mubadala World Tennis Championship exhibition event begins there today, and although he will not be taking part, he has asked to use the facilities attached to the tournament.
What appears to be happening is that Murray, 30, wants to play some sets, or get serious practice, against some of the players who are fully involved.
novak djokovic, dominic Thiem and roberto Bautista agut are among those in the Emirate (along with Serena Wiiliams), so it seems there is a chance for him to gauge how his troublesome hip stands up ahead of the australian Open.
By the weekend he will decide whether to proceed to the Brisbane International aTP Tour event, which has long been his official comeback date.
as he is seeded he could wait until as late as January 4 to play his first-round match in Queensland, should he be convinced that he is fit enough to play.
This is still some way short of the original plans he spoke about when facing roger Federer in his charity exhibition in Glasgow on november 7.
Murray then talked of going to australia well before Christmas to acclimatise properly before Brisbane. Instead, he returned from a truncated training block in Miami two weeks ago and has been in the uK since.
reasons for the change are unclear, though there were reports from Florida that he was not able to do all the training he wanted during that stay.
He and wife Kim welcomed their second daughter into the world at the beginning of november. at best he will be arriving late in australia, with the draw for Brisbane being made on Saturday. He would surely want to test himself out properly in a tournament before tackling the two-week Grand Slam in Melbourne that begins on January 15.
Murray has not played a tour match since mid-July, when he was beaten over five sets in the Wimbledon quarter- finals, hampered by a hip problem that reared its head late at the French Open. His only outing was the fundraiser against Federer, in which he hit the ball well but was short of full movement.
Murray has seen half a dozen specialists for advice but it looks like he will make a very late decision about the season.