Three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray’s former coach, Mark Petchey has said that the Briton does not require to learn anything from reigning Wimbledon and French Open champions Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal respectively.
Petchey, who coached Murray during his formative years, feels the two-time Wimbledon winner is experienced and wise enough to plan a near perfect schedule for himself in 2018. Murray has been out of the game since July after losing to Sam Querrey in the Wimbledon quarters when his already troublesome hip injury aggravated further.
The 30-year-old decided to have treatment and rest his injured hip, unlike his contemporaries Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka. While Djokovic went under the knife to fix his issues with an elbow, Wawrinka was forced to have surgery to get rid of the pain in his knees.
Murray will be making his much anticipated return to the ATP tour at the Brisbane International beginning on New Year’s Day.
Both Roger and Rafa enjoyed a magnificent 2017 after missing the second half of 2016. Petchey is hoping Murray will be able to emulate the Swiss and the Spaniard once he is back to full fitness.
And Petchey thinks Murray does not need to learn from the duo as he has handled such situations in the past.
“For Andy, the most important aspect heading into Brisbane is to be able to play 100 per cent physically to enable him to get back to match fitness and playing at the elite level pretty quickly,” Petchey told Sky Sports.
“I don’t have any doubt that he will return to his best assuming he is physically capable of doing so.
“He is at a stage where he is going to have to do things a little bit differently and manage the hip issue that he has right now.
“He has enough wise men to help him make those decisions.
“It is not fair to say he needs to take a leaf out of Roger and Rafa’s book in terms of scheduling.
“He has to focus on what is right for him – whether that is playing two lead-up tournaments heading into a major and missing hard court events to protect his hip and playing more on clay then I do not know.
“He needs to concentrate on what will allow him to compete for however long he has left in tennis at the peak.”
