Considering Andy Murray’s 11-month absence from the competitive scene, his performance yesterday at the Queen’s Club was, to say the least, encouraging. Sure, he found himself on the wrong end of a match against surging Nick Kyrgios, his first at the Fever-Tree Championships. On the other hand, there were enough sightings of his World Number One self to build on; the fact that he won the first set easily, bowed in the second via a tiebreak, and lost the third five and seven just five months off hip surgery speaks volumes of his commitment and skill set.
Certainly, Murray hoped for better from his comeback. That said, he did admit that his level of preparation was far from that required to keep pace at the sport’s highest echelon. “I really haven’t played a whole lot of tennis, so I’m happy I got out there and competed and performed respectably,” he said in his post-mortem. And just so everybody else wouldn’t pile on the expectations, he added that he needed “to wait and see what happens the next few days and chat with my team because I don’t know exactly what’s best for me just now.”
Indeed, Murray understands the value of taking things slow. Last year, he found himself prepping for the United States Open with the same hip problem that later had him going under the knife, to disappointing results. All the wiser, he noted yesterday that he wouldn’t be pushing himself, never mind that — or especially because — he’s an old 31. On the court, though, he didn’t show any signs of easing off his trademark body-punishing playing style. In fact, he looked every bit his old self, outbursts included — every bit, that is, save for the sharpness of his game.
And so Murray will wait and see how he feels when the rigors of his effort that lasted 21 minutes short of three hours yesterday will manifest themselves. “If I wake up and I really don’t feel good tomorrow, then that’s obviously not a great sign for best-of-five-set tennis at this stage,” he said. “However, if I pull up and feel okay, then that’s a good sign.” Still, it’s clear that his recovery is a matter of when, not if — which, at this point, is progress in and of itself.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994.
