Andy Murray: 'I'm doing my best to get ready for Miami Masters'

Former world no. 1 and three-time Major champion Andy Murray is finally back on the practice court, hitting with the young Briton Jay Clarke at the National Tennis Centre in the last couple of days. Andy has been sidelined since the Davis Cup Finals in November with a pelvic injury, skipping the ATP Cup, the Australian Open and all the events in February, with the upcoming events pretty much in doubt after withdrawing from Indian Wells. Still, there are positive signs after seeing him on the court again, with the Briton giving his best to make a return already in Miami. Andy has been struggling with an injury since the closing stages of 2019, unable to play all the matches at the Davis Cup Finals in Madrid and skipping the offseason preparations in Miami to stay at home with his family.

After that incredible clash with Roberto Bautista Agut in Melbourne last January, Andy's tennis future was pretty much in jeopardy, undergoing the second hip surgery soon after that and making a return in June at Queen's to win the doubles title with Feliciano Lopez. As was expected, the results in singles weren't there in the first couple of months and that all changed in Antwerp where Murray prevailed against Stan Wawrinka to claim the first ATP title since Dubai 2017. With those points, the Briton finished 2019 in the top-130, earning the ATP Comeback Player of the Year award and hoping for a fresh start in Australia in January. Instead of that, Andy had to wait to hit the court again, looking good to compete at the second Masters 1000 event of the season in Miami, where he usually trains during winter.

"In the short term, I'm trying to get ready for Miami," Murray said. "I've done so much rehab these last few months that, in terms of my strength and everything, all of the muscles around the hip are working well, it's just I hadn't played tennis, hitting like twice since the Davis Cup for like 40 minutes in three months. I need some time to build up and feel good on the court again; that's my plans at the moment unless I have a setback or something."

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2ImEnqi