Three-time grand slam champion Andy Murray exits this week’s Zhuhai Championships with more positives than negatives following his second round loss on Thursday.
At the tournament, he recorded his first singles win since undergoing hip resurfacing surgery after dismissing Tennys Sandgren in three sets. However, his run was halted in the following round by seventh seed Alex de Minaur, who is currently ranked 31st in the world. Murray managed to keep up with his Australian rival throughout the majority of the match before falling 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, after almost three hours of play.
“My body held up well after two pretty long matches but the rest of my body is just tired,” Murray said afterwards.
“I wasn’t able to sustain it for long enough. I played one or two good points, but then I was trying to finish the points a little bit early and shot selection goes down when you’re tired.”
It is still very much a case of trial and error for the Brit when it comes to playing on the tour. Murray is still trying to find the right balance in his training following two years of hip problems. He started his comeback in June by focusing solely on doubles tournaments before returning to singles competition two months later.
Unlike the past where he would usually go all out in practice, Murray has to be more reserved nowadays. Ensuring that his pain-free hip remains that way. It is a new challenge for the Brit and one he is still trying to get use to.
“(Tuesday) was the first time in my entire career that I didn’t practice the day before a match.” He said about his preparation for playing de Minaur. “I was tired after the first round and tried to sort of rest and recover as much as possible, so that was something that I have done differently.’
“I’m trying to look at other ways to give my body a bit of a break and a rest when I can, which is maybe something in the past that I wouldn’t have done, I would have been in the courts yesterday practicing.”
“So some things I’m trying to do differently to work out what the best thing is for my body just now. But I learned that my hip held up well after two pretty long matches. But the rest of my body is just tired.”
Gaining confidence on the tour, the former world No.1 admits that he still has a way to go. Due to his hiatus from the tour in recent time, Murray is currently ranked outside the top 400. His next challenge will be at the China Open in Beijing. A tournament he won back in 2016 after defeating Grigor Dimitrov in the final.
“The level in Beijing is a little bit higher in terms of the quality of players.” Murray previewed. “I’m not playing Top-20, Top-30 tennis right now, I’m probably playing Top-70, Top-60, sort of level. So it’s not going to be that easy for me to win matches there.’
“However, I can still make a few improvements in the next couple of days.”
The China Open main draw will get underway on Monday.
