Former World No.1 Andy Murray has admitted that some changes to his regular tour schedule are in the offing. The Briton has not played a tour level match since suffering a hip injury in his quarter-final loss to Sam Querrey at Wimbledon last year.
Murray speaking to reporters in Brisbane, said: “I’ll probably make some changes to my schedule this year. I’ll certainly play less than I have in the past to give my body time to rest and recover. I would want to play as long as I could physically do it, and most of the players would feel the same way. Giving yourself breaks, especially as you get older, is very important and something that I’ll certainly be looking to do.”
Murray’s first opponent of the 2018 season is now known after American Ryan Harrison edged Argentina’s Leonardo Mayer to reach the second round in Brisbane.
Murray offered some encouraging signs when asked about his injury: “My hip feels way better than it did at Wimbledon.At Wimbledon, I almost made the semi-finals. So if it’s better than that, then that’s positive.”
“But playing the matches and getting used to that intensity again and how you recover from a match is what is important. And I’m hoping I’m going to be okay, but you never know for sure until you go through it.”
Murray is the second seed at the Brisbane International with ATP Finals champion Grigor Dimitrov the top seed. The field also features former Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic, Wimbledon quarter-finalist, Gilles Muller, and home player Nick Kyrgios.
