Andy Murray reveals the comeback tournament if hip feels fine

In the Battle of the Brits, Andy Murray and Kyle Edmund battled for two and a half hours on Wednesday night, with the younger player prevailing 6-7, 7-6, 10-5. It was a thrilling contest at the National Tennis Centre in London, with only two breaks of serve and tight battle from start to finish. Edmund stayed composed in the closing stages of the second set and played on a high-level in the match tie break, winning all eight points on serve and delivering two mini-breaks to secure the triumph. Giving his best, former world no. 1 Murray was happy with the way he performed, leaving the result aside and focusing on his hip that endured the challenging contest. Andy had little problems with his groin in the early stages, with nothing to bother him in the rest of the encounter that went down to the wire.

The Scot revealed his comeback tournament if everything goes well with the hip, choosing Washington rather than Cincinnati a week before the US Open.

After all kinds of troubles in the past four years, Murray would love to experience a couple of more Major runs, focusing on the most significant events and not wanting to compete a week before the Major. In 2016, Murray raised his game to another level, finishing the season with nine trophies and 78 wins and battling for the year-end no. 1 spot with Novak Djokovic. After conquering Beijing, Shanghai, Vienna, Paris, and the ATP Finals, Andy secured the hinor, producing one of the most reliable 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 but the challenging previous season left a mark on him, struggling with a hip injury and missing all the action after the All England Club. Undergoing surgery in January 2018, Andy returned to the court at Queen's, playing 12 matches that year and opting for another surgery in January 2019 after that epic clash against Roberto Bautista Agut in Melbourne.

Determined to extend his career, Murray won the doubles title at Queen's with Feliciano Lopez for a perfect comeback last June, winning the first ATP singles title since Dubai 2017 in Antwerp in October and moving closer to the place in 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. 

"To be honest, I am not bothered about the result; after a match like this, I only hope my hip is OK," Murray said. "I know if my hip is in the right condition, my tennis will only get better over the next few months if I can get consistent practice. That's what I'm hoping for and the hip feels good now. If I play like that and do a few things better, sharpen up a couple of things, I will play high-level tennis. My groin is a little bit sore today, I felt it in practice and at the beginning of my match, but as it went on, it felt alright. I am trying to avoid playing back-to-back events; my priority is to be fit for the Grand Slams. After what I have gone through in the last few years, and not being able to compete at any of the Majors, I want to have a few more cracks and get to compete at them, even if it is for one last time. So there would be more chance of playing in Washington than Cincinnati - or New York, where the Cincinnati event has been moved."

With no tennis around at least until August, Andy Murray has been working hard on another return, having enough time to recover completely and continue his tennis journey that has been one bumpy road for the last four seasons.

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