Almost 12 months after posting a heart-rending insight of the toll which persistent injury was taking on his spirits, Andy Murray is back in Brisbane with cautious hope but a familiar pain in his hip.
The dual Wimbledon champion arrived on Thursday for his Brisbane International return which he promised last summer, saying his troublesome hip was sore, but better than it was 12 months ago or during the northern summer.
Murray, who is ranked No.256 and will be unseeded, said he needed to test his capacity to withstand matches, especially with a best-of-five set Australian Open just three weeks away.
Murray, 31, called a halt to a six-tournament season in October to rest and strengthen the hip which had required surgery when he had been unable to play a match on a frustrating trip to Australia last summer.
On January 2, Murray posted a picture of himself as a bright-eyed child with an emotional social media explanation when he pulled out of the 2018 Brisbane International.
Two days later he flew home to Britain without attempting to undertake the Australian Open.
“I chose this pic as the little kid inside me who just wants to play tennis and compete,’’ Murray wrote.
“I would give anything to be back out there. I didn’t realise until these last few months just how much I love this game. It’s quite demoralising.’’
Fifty-one weeks later, Murray took to an afternoon practice session at the Queensland Tennis Centre, where he is unbeaten from two title-winning visits in 2012 and 2013, with a hit lined up later this week with super-fit local John Millman.
“I still have some pain in my hip but I need to play matches and see how it feels when I am able to play three, four, five matches in a row and take it from there,’’ Murray said.
“Last year when I came here it was tough, I was struggling quite a lot. It definitely feels a bit better than it did coming here last year. I’ve always loved playing here.
“I’m in a better place than I was a few months ago.’’
The tough Scot gets into the Brisbane main draw, which starts on Monday, on the basis of his injury-protected ranking of No.2.
It does not guarantee him a seeding, so he could be drawn against one of the eight seeds, including world No.2 Rafael Nadal and Australians Alex de Minaur and Nick Kyrgios, in the early rounds in Brisbane.
Asked what he hoped to achieve in Australia, Murray said: “I would just like to get through the tournaments and feel likeI am able to compete and not be restricted by my hip.’’
World No.19 Grigor Dimitrov arrived on a morning flight from Los Angeles for his seventh Brisbane International campaign and will not have his coaching consultant Andre Agassi with him until he moves on to Melbourne, where the Australian Open starts on January 14.
Dimitrov trained for two weeks this month at Las Vegas, where Agassi punished himself into top shape for four winning Australian Open assaults.
“We are just ready. That is one of the main messages from Andre – we are ready to fight,’’ Dimitrov, the 2017 Brisbane champion and former world No.3, said.
“We have done the work. It’s the best you can do and I have tried to give 100 per cent. Hopefully I can get some matches back to back in Brisbane.’’
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