Rusedski: 'Murray would struggle to challenge Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Djokovic'

Former British no. 1 Greg Rusedski believes the three-time Major champion Andy Murray is still capable of winning some big matches and smaller titles, especially if he gets back at 100% after the break caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Still, Rusedski can't imagine Murray as a Major winner anymore, saying it would be too difficult for him to score seven best-of-five triumphs and topple the names like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas. Murray has been the most dangerous rival of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in the last 15 years, standing above the competitors behind him and adding 46 ATP trophies to his cabinet. Back in 2016, Murray raised his game even higher to wrap up the season with nine titles and 78 victories overall, battling for the year-end no. 1 spot with Novak Djokovic after Roland Garros and securing the honor following titles in Beijing, Shanghai, Vienna, Paris and the ATP Finals, producing one of the strongest finishes in the Open era and becoming world no. 1 for the first time in November.

Andy stayed at the top until Wimbledon next year when all the challenges from the previous season started to leave a mark on him, struggling with a hip injury and missing all the action after the All England Club where he lost in the quarter-final. Undergoing surgery in January 2018, Andy returned to the court at Queen's, playing 12 matches that year and opting for another operation in January 2019 after that epic clash against Roberto Bautista Agut at the Australian Open that made almost the entire tennis world think he would soon retire.

Determined to give himself another chance, Murray won the doubles title at Queen's with Feliciano Lopez for a perfect comeback last June, focusing on singles events a couple of months later and winning the first ATP title since Dubai 2017 in Antwerp in October after a thrilling victory over Stan Wawrinka, moving closer to return into the top-100. At the Davis Cup Finals, Andy suffered another setback, experiencing a pelvic injury that forced him to skip the ATP Cup, the Australian Open and other events at the beginning of 2020. With no tennis at least until August, Andy has been working hard on producing another comeback, having enough time to recover and continue his tennis journey that has been one bumpy road in the last three years. 

"Hopefully, Andy's body will recover but it will be hard to challenge Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Stefanos Tsitsipas and others week after week," Rusedski said. "He can still score wins and conquer smaller titles, but to win seven matches at Majors in the best-of-five format, that's a little bit difficult. He can get to the fourth round or the quarter-final, but to go all the way with the surgeries he's had, that's a big ask. I hope he proves me wrong as he did on several occasions."

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2zBFGR8