Andy Murray ‘pain free and optimistic’ after making winning return to tennis

Andy Murray says he has ‘zero pain’ in his hip following his return to tennis and has vowed to fight to return to his previous level.

The former British and world number one has endured a dreadful time in the last two years as a degenerative hip injury robbed him of his ranking and enjoyment of the sport.

It looked to have robbed him of his career too after he tearfully told the press at the Australian Open that he was ready to hang up his racket due to the constant pain.

However, he underwent surgery in January and made a winning return at Queen’s, partnering Feliciano Lopez to beat doubles top seeds Juan Sebastián Cabal and Robert Farah in straight sets.

And, after the match, he revealed exciting news for the future.

“I learned quite a bit tonight,” Murray told reporters. “I expected to be the worst player on the court and to not feel particularly good on the court.

“I was prepared to feel that way, which was probably the case in the first set.

.@andy_murray returns to the court with a doubles win and some flashy shotmaking! ?pic.twitter.com/msZlwFMEeD

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) June 20, 2019

“But I think I started to play better in the second and started to serve better, see the returns better.

“I have zero discomfort in my hip – like, nothing. If I had done this last year, I’d be here aching, throbbing, and feel bad the next day.

“I’ll just keep pushing and see how it goes, but I feel optimistic about the future.

“I don’t know how long it will take to get to that level, but hopefully not too long.”

Murray has also confirmed he will play at Wimbledon this year, partnering Pierre Hugues-Herbert in the doubles.

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