Mom says Murray may not be done yet
RIO DE JANEIRO — Andy Murray is currently recovering from hip surgery, and his mother thinks the two-time Wimbledon champion still has a chance of making a return.
Murray announced last month at the Australian Open that he would compete in the season’s first major but might never be able to play again. He lost in the first round in Melbourne and had hip resurfacing surgery about two weeks ago.
Judy Murray, Andy’s mother and former coach, said “I don’t think we know anything, for sure nobody does. But I know that he would do everything that he possibly can to give himself a chance to play again.” More tennis: Unseeded Belinda Bencic rallied to beat secondranked Simona Halep 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 to reach the Dubai Championships semifinals. Second-seeded Petra Kvitova ousted Viktoria Kuzmova 6-4, 6-0 to book her spot in the last four. She will next face Su-wei Hsieh of Taiwan, who came from 5-1 down in the final set to beat fourth-seeded Karolina Pliskova 6-4, 1-6, 7-5. Also, two-time defending champion Elina Svitolina of Ukraine defeated Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain 6-2, 6-3 to set up a meeting with Bencic . ... Fifthseeded Joao Sousa was eliminated from the Rio Open, adding to the list of favorites knocked out of the clay-court tournament in the early stages. Norwegian Casper Ruud topped Portugal’s Sousa 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 in the round of 16. NFL: gary Kubiak accepted the position of assistant head coach to Mike Zimmer and offensive adviser with Minnesota. ... New Orleans released veteran safety Kurt Coleman. Obituary: Longtime Boston Globe baseball writer Nick Cafardo died Thursday while covering spring training after collapsing on the sidewalk outside the Red Sox clubhouse. He was 62. The newspaper said Cafardo appeared to have an embolism. athletics: The IAAF approved 21 more athletes to compete internationally for Russia — but Russia says it’s too late for next week’s European indoor championships.