Andy Murray's recent injury woes have left him on the outside of the contenders' list for the U.S. Open in New York.
The 31-year-old Brit pulled out of Wimbledon in July as he continued his recovery from a January hip injury. His August included withdrawing during the Citi Open in Washington and suffering a first-round loss to Lucas Pouille in the Western & Southern Open outside Cincinnati.
But the early loss to Pouille did something else for Murray -- it gave him 13 days to rest, get his hip in order and work out in the gym. He opens play in the U.S. Open on Monday against Australian James Duckworth.
"My body feels better than it did a few weeks ago," Murray told reporters at U.S. Open media day. .".. I do feel that once my body is right again -- which takes time when you haven't played many matches in a year -- I'm sure that my level will be OK to get me competing at the top of the game again."
Murray knows the odds of prevailing are not on his side, not with Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic looking strong. In addition, third-seeded Juan Martin del Potro is a potential third-round opponent.
That is when the physical tests will come. Murray thinks his body is ready for the task, but the grind of possibly playing five-set matches looms.
And Murray, once the top-ranked player in the world, says he really does not know if his body will respond.
"I need to see," Murray said of the prospects of playing five-set matches. "I haven't played one, so you don't know until you actually get out there and do it. That's the thing.
.".. My expectation is to give my best effort in the matches. Hopefully if I do that, my tennis will get better. I'll take each match at a time. It's difficult to predict how you're going to do and say how far you're going to go in the event. My tennis is getting better all the time. I just need to be on the court more consistently through till the end of the year."
Article from Reuters
