Former world No.1 Andy Murray has been backed to return to action next month despite recent doubts surrounding his current fitness levels.
Murray hasn’t played a match on the tour since Wimbledon due to a hip injury. After failing twice to stage a comeback to the tour, he underwent surgery on his hip in January. Murray has not spoken publicly about his physical issues. Prompting speculation about his return to action. Earlier this month he pulled out of two corporate engagements and opted not to participate in the two new Challenger events taking place in his home country. Including one this week at Loughborough University.
Despite the woes, the tournament director of the Libema Open is confident that the three-time grand slam champion will appear in their draw next month. Marcel Hunze has said that he has held talks with Murray’s camp. The tournament, which is held in the Dutch city of s-Hertogenbosch, is set to get underway immediately after the French Open on June 11th.
“After consulting his team, we don’t have any reason to doubt his participation,” Hunze told BBC Scotland.
“Andy is on the entry list. We are looking forward to welcoming Andy here for his comeback on the [ATP] tour.”
Away from the court, it has been confirmed that the 31-year-old has financially backed a tennis-related project for the first time. Deuce is a brand new app aimed at matching players with coach-led sessions and courts at nearby clubs and parks. The inventor is Matt Willcocks, a former tennis director. A pilot scheme has already been launched in Hertfordshire. There are also plans to expand it to London by the end of July.
“There are lots of schemes out there for encouraging participation but this is the first time I’ve backed something like this,” Murray said. “The team behind Deuce are really impressive and they have a working knowledge of tennis and tennis clubs in this country, so they really understand the issues and the potential.”
“Tennis is such a great sport with so many benefits – physical, mental and social, but we simply don’t have enough people playing in this country. We need to fill empty courts with people playing more often and Deuce uses today’s technology to do this in a simple, welcoming and affordable way.”
Murray is currently ranked 45th in the world. So far in his career, he has won a total of 45 ATP titles and has played in 46 grand slam main draws.
