‘Don’t expect too much from Andy’

JUDY Murray has warned against expecting too much, too soon of her son, Andy, despite his impressive win over Stan Wawrinka on Monday.

Murray recorded his first win after almost a year out with a hip injury, beating three-time grand slam champion Wawrinka 6-1 6-3 in just 77 minutes at Eastbourne.

The Scot made his long-awaited comeback last week in a three-set defeat to Nick Kyrgios at Queen’s Club but showed further signs that he is getting back to full fitness on the south coast.

With Wimbledon set to start next week, the two-time winner at the All England Club has refused to commit himself as he continues to work his way back and Judy Murray was not reading too much into the win.

“I think he did really well yesterday, but this is about him just dipping his toe back in the water and seeing how his body holds up,” she told Press Association Sport at the inaugural UK Coaching conference in Edinburgh. “It was great for him to have a win.”

With Murray now through to the second round at Eastbourne – where he will face fellow Briton Kyle Edmund on Wednesday – he could yet suffer an adverse reaction to the strains of being back on court.

He admitted to experiencing soreness and stiffness after the loss to Kygrios and any further problems could see him pull out of Wimbledon next week, but Judy Murray says it is vital he gets match time under his belt if he is to get back to his best.

“The goal was always to try and play the grass court season and at some point you have to dip your toe back in the water to see where you are at,” she said.

“Any athlete who has been out for a long time will tell you the same thing, you have to build up your physical fitness and your match fitness and you can only build that up by playing matches.

“I think for him it is about seeing how he is during the match, and how he is after the match.

“That is what tennis will demand of you; if you are playing in a tournament that lasts for a week and you get to the final, you have to play five matches in seven days.

“If you play a grand slam, you’re playing seven matches across 13 days and the best of five sets, so you have to test yourself and see where you are at.

“I think he had a good match at Queen’s last week and had a good match yesterday with Stan, so it’s just baby steps.”

Meanwhile Johanna Konta has progressed to the third round of the Nature Valley International in Eastbourne after overcoming Aleksandra Krunic in straight sets.

She will next face world number two Caroline Wozniacki and will need to improve despite the convincing 6-1 6-3 scoreline by which she defeated Serbia’s Krunic.

The 27-year-old perhaps benefited from Krunic hurting herself by slipping into the net during the first set and requiring treatment before the start of the second.

Defeat by the 25-year-old Serb at the firstround stage of last year’s US Open proved the start of Konta’s decline, but it is Krunic – following her fall – who will approach Wimbledon with greater concern.