The comeback from injury is never easy
The road to recovery is a long one for some of the big names on the men’s tour. Andy Murray has recently admitted that he continues to experience pain in his hip some 18 months after withdrawing from Wimbledon due to the issue. The three-time grand slam champion made a winning start to the year by defeating James Duckworth at the Brisbane International. However, celebrations were halted in the next round after he was brushed aside by Daniil Medvedev. Medvedev finished runner-up in the tournament to Kei Nishikori.
“If you’re not serving as well, or if you’re not moving as well, the better players exploit that,” Murray said after his loss.
“He is a top player and is able to do that.
“So I need to try and find a way of working out how to get around some of the things I struggle with a little bit now, and I’ll try to do that.”
Now ranked outside the top 200, the Brit is keeping grounded about his chances on the tour in the near future. Switching the focus from results to his health. Something that will be firmly tested when he plays in best-of-five matches in Melbourne, where he has settled for runner-up on five occasions.
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Rafael Nadal is another player dealing with woes. Last year it was issues with his knee, abdomen and even minor ankle surgery that sidelined him. This time around it is a strained muscle in his left thigh that has hindered him.
“My hope is to win the Australian Open,” Nadal told reporters earlier this week. “And being honest, I feel myself playing well. I feel myself playing at a good level of tennis. And I feel myself with very high motivation to compete and to play.”
Despite the woes, the Spaniard has been seen practising hard. He also recently held a tennis clinic with local children in Brisbane. Meanwhile hitting partner, Tommy Salfa, believes Nadal’s delayed start to the year is a good move.
“Step-by-step he’s feeling better. The precision (of hitting the ball) was good from him and he feels that he is playing good. That is the most important thing for him.” Salfa told ABC News Australia on January 5th.
ICYMI: Rafael Nadal trained in Brisbane today, testing out his thigh strain ahead of the Australian Open @mf_rennie reports for @abcnews @abcbrisbane pic.twitter.com/MWBMpUVN6c
— Jessica van Vonderen (@jessvanvonderen) January 5, 2019
