I’ll be back for Wimbledon
● Murray reveals he’s had hip operation ● Grass-court season targeted for return
A bullish Andy Murray has revealed he is targeting this summer’s Wimbledon after having surgery on his injured right hip.
In an announcement on his official Facebook page, the three-times major winner announced he had undergone surgery in Melbourne yesterday morning and insisted he was hoping to return to competition for the 2018 grasscourt season.
The 30-year-old, who has not played competitively since Wimbledon last summer and last week withdrew from this month’s Australian Open, announced via his official Facebook page that he had gone under the knife in Melbourne.
Murray is now aiming to be back in time for this year’s grass-court events, starting at Queen’s Club on 18 June before Wimbledon begins a fortnight later. He wrote: “Today I underwent successful right hip surgery at the St Vincent Hospital in Melbourne.
“I’d like to thank Dr John O’donnell and all of the staff for looking after me. I look forward to returning to competitive tennis during the grass-court season.
“Thanks to everyone for all the well wishes and support over the last few days. I’ll come back from this.”
Murray, twice a winner in SW19, last week posted an emotional message on Instagram, detailing his disappointment at being forced to withdraw from the Brisbane International.
The now world No 19 said the two options available to fix his troublesome hip were to continue with rehab or have surgery.
He admitted the chances of an operation being successful were not as high as he would have liked.
But, after undergoing the procedure in Australia, Murray’s outlook was far more upbeat.
“I’m very optimistic because, having spoken to the surgeon after he did the surgery, he was very happy about how it went,” Murray said.
“Moving forward I’ll certainly be playing a reduced schedule, and then focusing more on trying to win major events and big tournaments rather than trying to achieve certain ranking goals.”
Murray also revealed that he underwent minor surgery on his groin on 18 December.
ANDY MURRAY “Thanks to everyone for all the well wishes and support. I’ll come back from this”
Andy Murray has revealed the desire for his eldest daughter, Sophia, to see him play tennis is motivating him to make a return to the game.
Murray underwent surgery to resolve a troublesome hip injury yesterday morning and is hoping to return to competitive tennis for the 2018 grasscourt season.
The 30-year-old has not played competitively since Wimbledon last summer and last week he withdrew from this month’s Australian Open.
There were doubts over his future but the early prognosis after surgery is good and Murray is determined to give his daughter, who turns two next month, the chance to see him play.
“One of the things that I would like to do is play until my eldest daughter is able to watch me and have a small understanding of what it is I’ve done for my living,” Murray told a number of national newspapers. “That’s something I really wanted to do. That’s one of the things that motivated me to keep playing.
“That would be cool if she can come along and watch me hit some balls or practise, just to see what it is I do. I like watching and seeing a lot of the other kids when they are on the tour with their parents and get to do a bit of travelling with them when they are at an age when they actually understand a little bit more about what it is that they’re doing.”
Murray is now aiming to be back in time for this year’s grass-court season, which starts at Queen’s on 18 June before Wimbledon begins a fortnight later.
He last week posted an emotional message on Instagram, detailing his disappointment at being forced to withdraw from the Brisbane International.
The now world No 19 said the two options available to fix his troublesome hip were to continue with rehab or have surgery, for which he admitted the chances of success were not as high as he would have liked. But, after undergoing the operation in Australia, Murray’s outlook was more optimistic. His surgeon was also positive about the outcome. Murray added: “He felt that my hip will be feeling better than it did a year ago and, obviously, I was still doing fine a year ago. I was ranked No 1 in the world.”
Murray also said he underwent some minor surgery on his groin on 18 December.
He concedes he may only ever be able to reach 95 per cent fitness but believes that would still be enough to challenge for grand-slam titles. “I’ve been fairly competitive with top-50 players in the world practising in Brisbane when I was struggling to move, and I made the quarter-finals at Wimbledon when I literally couldn’t walk and was in so much pain,” Murray said.
“So, if I can get myself to 95 per cent of my best, I believe that’s enough to compete at the highest level. No question.”
Murray later shared a picture of himself in his hospital bed on Instagram, where his coach, Jamie Delgado, was visiting him.
He thanked people for their support and again reiterated his positivity.
He wrote: “A little post op photo. I’m feeling really positive and looking forward to starting rehab. Thanks to everyone for the well wishes and support the last few days.. It really helps.
“And everyone try and find a partner who looks at you the way @jamie__delgado looks at me”
“If I can get myself to95percentofmy best, I believe that’s enough to compete at the highest level. No question”
ANDY MURRAY