Two familiar faces on the men’s tour has cast doubts over their current fitness levels during practice sessions conducted ahead of the Australian Open.
Three-time grand slam champion Andy Murray reportedly looked sluggish and far from his best in a practice match conducted with Novak Djokovic. The two former world No.1 players took on each other in Melbourne Park where the public was invited to watch. Djokovic cruised to a 6-1, 4-1, lead after 49 minutes of play before the session ended. Leaving a frustrated Murray pondering his next move.
https://twitter.com/BellshawGeorge/status/1083205133662474240
Murray in deep discussion with his team on his courtside bench and waving his arms around as he relives the match. Djokovic back on court for practice drills.
— Stuart Fraser (@stu_fraser) January 10, 2019
Murray recently admitted that he is continues to experience pain in his hip. The Brit has been blighted by a hip injury for the past 18 months since his withdrawal from the 2017 Wimbledon Championships. At the start of 2018 he underwent surgery to help tackle the problem.
“I still have some pain in my hip but I need to play matches and see how it feels when I am able to play three, four, five matches in a row and take it from there,” Murray told reporters on December 27th.
“Last year when I came here it was tough, I was struggling quite a lot. It definitely feels a bit better than it did coming here last year. I’ve always loved playing here.
“I’m in a better place than I was a few months ago.”
In his first tournament of the new year, the Brisbane International, Murray reached the second round. Scoring a win over James Duckworth before falling in straight sets to Russia’s Daniil Medvedev. He is currently ranked 230th in the world rankings.
Another player to raise injury concerns is world No.4 Alexander Zverev. The German player withdrew from the World Tennis Challenge in Adelaide earlier this week due to a hamstring injury. According to Eurosport Germany, Zverev has also suffered a foot issue during a practice session with Marc Polmans. Taking a brief time out during the session before later calling it quits.
Alexander Zverev goes down hurt in his practice match against Marc Polmans.
Tried to continue playing but ended the match two points later with some sort of foot injury. #AusOpen
— Jedd Zetzer (@JeddZetzer) January 10, 2019
There has been no details provided about the severity of Zverev’s latest setback. This year he is bidding to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open for the first time in his career. Zverev hasn’t missed a grand slam tournament since making his major debut at the 2015 Wimbledon Championships.
The Australian Open main draw will get underway on Monday.
