There is a pretty good chance, after the best part of a year on the sidelines, that Andy Murray has had enough of being patient.
But when the Scot returns to the Tour tomorrow – this time, he hopes, for good – he will do with huge hope, but also well aware that he will probably need to remain patient just that bit longer as he begins the long haul back up the tennis ladder.
“I’m feeling better than I did during the grass-court season,” Murray told a press conference yesterday in Washington, where tomorrow he will begin his comeback at the Citi Open.
“But also I haven’t played a hard-court match since Indian Wells last year, it’s a long time, about 18 months, so I’ll have to see how my body responds, not just my hip, but the rest of my body as well but I’ve felt pretty good in practice.
Though he played at Queen’s Club and then at Eastbourne last month, the demands of Wimbledon, in particular the best-of-five-set format, came too soon for the Scot, whose recovery from hip trouble and then surgery in January, has taken longer than he had hoped.
This time last year, he was still ranked No 1. Heading into Washington, where he has taken a wildcard, he is ranked 838, with just 20 ranking points to his name.
The 31-year-old knows that it will take some time to regain full match fitness. Having begun his hard-court training on day one of Wimbledon, he has put in plenty of hard work. Now it’s about testing himself in match conditions again and seeing how his hips respond.
“It (the hip) is feeling better all the time,” he said. “It’s tough to put a number (a percentage) on it. It takes time when you’ve been out for a long period to get the match sharpness back.
“I’ve only played three matches in the past year so I need to try and get out on the match court as much as I can and see how I feel, after playing two, three, four, five matches in a week, that’s’ the test.
“I’ve done a lot of training lately and come through that pretty well so hopefully if I get in that situation I’ll be alright.”
Barring any last-minute setbacks, Murray will play his first match tomorrow against the talented young American, MacKenzie McDonald, who reached the last 16 at Wimbledon earlier this month.
Should he come through that, he would then play Kyle Edmund, the man who has replaced him as British No 1, in what would be a repeat of their second-round clash at Eastbourne, which Edmund won handily.
He certainly looks fit and in the build-up to this event, he has been enjoying himself back on Tour, meeting former England striker Wayne Rooney, who left Everton for DC United this summer, and even inviting him to play some football-tennis.
“I’ve seen him play a few times,” said Murray, who practised with Russia’s Karen Khachanov on the eve of the event. “I was at the Man Utd-City game when he scored that overhead kick. He’s obviously had an incredible career, one of the best players ever in English football history so it’s nice to finally meet him, very cool.”
For Murray, this is the first of three straight tournaments, taking in the Toronto and Cincinnati Masters 1000s. If he comes through those unscathed and with a few matches in the bag, he will be on the right track again.
“I’m looking forward to playing,” Murray said. “Obviously, not playing a hard-court match for a very long time, there’s anxiety there, because of that break. Once I get out there, after a few games, I should be fine. I just want a prolonged period on the match court and I’m looking forward to that.
“I want to stay healthy through the end of the year. If I stay fit and healthy I’m not worried so much about ranking. I want to be winning matches and competing against the best players, that will build my fitness up quicker than anything I do in the gym. If I can do that, hopefully I’ll be ready to start the 2019 season really well.”
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