I’D HATE TO PLAY AT WIMBLEDON AND FOR IT TO GO REALLY BADLY
Andy Murray is now pain-free after hip op… but it’s a race against time for SW19
ANDY MURRAY’S hip is now painfree but he says he will only compete at Wimbledon this year if he is confident he can avoid embarrassing himself or hurting himself further.
Murray, walking unaided, spoke in detail at Queen’s Club in west london about having careersaving surgery on January 28 and the long road to recovery ahead.
Wimbledon starts on July 1 but Murray will only be able to begin exercising on court towards the end of May. The two- time champion would also want to play in a warm-up tournament.
It leaves him in a race against time and Murray, 31, said: ‘I would hate to go on the court at Wimbledon and for something bad to happen. Or to feel really bad and apprehensive and for it to go really badly.
‘I wouldn’t want that to happen. I just wouldn’t feel comfortable doing that, going straight into a slam without having any preparation or seeing how it feels. It’s possible (that he will be at Wimbledon). This is a big surgery and operation I’ve had.
‘The main reason for having the operation was to not be in pain any more, and I’m not. I’m delighted with that. What happens next, I don’t know exactly.
‘I don’t have any reference. no one has done an operation like this and gone back to playing. It was never considered.
‘It’s not about proving anyone wrong or being the first person to do it. It’s just that tennis is something I love doing.
‘If my hip allows me to do that without pain and I can still enjoy it then I’d like to try. But if I can’t, then I can’t, and I’ll be happy I’m not in pain every day.’
Murray was speaking publicly for the first time since January’s australian Open, when he lost in the first round to spaniard Roberto Bautista agut.
He was at Queen’s yesterday to announce a new kit sponsorship deal with Castore and continued: ‘The operation has taken that pain away and I’m really, really happy about that. It makes a huge difference.
‘I can go for a walk around the block with my kids. six weeks ago I thought, “I can’t do that because my hip hurts”.
The last 18 months were by far the hardest for me. now I don’t feel like I’m battling against anything. I’m just waiting to see.’
The operation at Princess grace Hospital in Marylebone was only supposed to last 45 minutes but took closer to two hours because Murray’s bone was so dense.
The specialist hip surgeon who took care of him was sarah Muirhead-allwood and Murray was the first top-level athlete she had performed this operation on.
On why he chose Muirheadallwood, Murray said: ‘Because she was honest.
I’ve spoken to a lot of people, different specialists and surgeons. They told me things were going to turn out better than they had. I felt speaking to her, she told me the truth: “There are absolutely no guarantees that you’ll get back to playing. You just have to see how it goes”.
‘It just felt right having spoken to her. I didn’t want to be told, “You’re going to come back and win Wimbledon in five months, and it’s going to be perfect”. Because I know that it’s not the case.
‘nobody in their right mind could promise me that, because it’s not been done before. I just felt like she told me the truth.
‘she didn’t say to me, “never try to play again”. It was, “Just be realistic and this might not work out. But what I can guarantee you is that your pain will be gone”.
‘and that’s happened. That’s why I went with her.’