Former US Open finalist Greg Rusedski has cast doubt over the chances of Andy Murray potentially adding to his grand slam tally in the future.
Murray, who is the only player outside of the Big Three to hold the No.1 spot since March 2004, hasn’t played since the Davis Cup finals last November. The Brit has been sidelined from action due to pelvic bruising in what is the latest of a series of injury setbacks to hit him. He has also undergone two surgeries on his right hip in as many years during 2018 and 2019.
Despite the issues, Murray has no intention of walking away from the sport just yet as he goes through another rehabilitation progress. The only positive is that his latest recovery is taking place during the same time as the sport grounding to a halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Winning the European Open back in October after defeating Stan Wawrinka in the final, the 32-year-old has demonstrated that he still has what it takes to challenge the best in the world. However, former world No.4 Rusedski believes it will be a tough ask for him to clinch another major trophy. Murray is a two-time Wimbledon champion, as well as former US Open winner.
“The good news for him is that he’s had more of a rest at this point,” Rusedski told Sky Sports on Sunday. “Hopefully his body comes back, but to challenge week in week out with Nadal, Federer, Djokovic, (Stefanos) Tsitsipas is going to be hard.
“Can he win matches. Can he possibly win a Tour event, yes he can do so. But to win Slams, that’s three out of five sets, seven matches, that’s a little bit difficult. It’s possible he can get to a quarter-final, fourth round, but to go all the way with the surgeries he’s had, that’s a big ask.
“But I hope he proves me wrong, like he’s done on several occasions.”
Last season, Murray returned to action in June following his second hip operation. Against top 20 opposition, he won two out of four matches. Besides Wawrinka, he also defeated Matteo Berrettini at the China Open.
Recently shedding light on his current form during Rafael Nadal’s Instagram live broadcast, the Brit insisted that he is ‘feeling good’ as he waits for the sport to resume again. Although it is still unclear as to when the start date will be.
“I’ve been training a lot. I’ve been able to do lots of things but I haven’t practiced for five weeks since everything started to get shut down,” he said. “I am still doing some training and feel pretty good.”
“We will see what happens when we are able to start doing things again.”
The two-time Olympic champion is currently ranked 129th in the world.
Murray vs the Big Three
Novak Djokovic: Born a week before his Serbian rival, Murray has won 11 out of their 36 meetings. He was the player who Djokovic defeated in the 2016 French Open final to win his first and so far only title at the clay court major.
Roger Federer: Has won 11 out of his 25 meetings against the Swiss maestro. Although their five most recent meetings have all gone in Federer’s favour. Federer was the first member of the Big Three Murray played in his career. Their first meeting took place at the 2005 Bangkok Open which he lost 6-3, 7-5.
Rafael Nadal: The Spaniard in the member of the trio that Murray has accumulated the least wins against. Their head-to-head currently stands at 17-7 to Nadal. It has been almost six years since they last faced each other in a grand slam tournament (2014 French Open).
