Andy Murray’s return to the ATP tour went well overall. Nevertheless, there are question marks regarding the coming weeks.
Three sets against Nick Kyrgios – and in the end a close defeat. Nevertheless, the spectators in London’s Queen´s Club were satisfied with the performance of the five-time champion. And Andy Murray himself was also able to gain something from his comeback.
“I think I did it really well,” Murray explained after his first performance after a break of 342 days. Of course he could have done some things better, especially at the beginning of the second set the level would have been very unstable, the Scotsman continued.
In fact, Murray was very keen to play, fought for every ball, scattered many variations – and had Kyrgios on the verge of defeat. Also because the Australian played with fire again and again, as he did against Roger Federer in Stuttgart – especially with regard to his second serves, which he played mercilessly at the highest speed. With good reason: on the other side of the net was one of the best return players in the world.
“I knew Andy would fight for every ball,” Kyrgios said after his success. “It didn’t take him long to get a good appraisal of the balls. And his return – every time he got the bat to the ball, my serve came back.”
For Kyrgios, the British continue, Kyle Edmund waits in round two. What the coming weeks will look like for Andy Murray, however, is still unclear. “I need to talk to my team about this. Of course it also plays a role how I feel when I wake up tomorrow morning,” Murray said on Tuesday.
The two-time gold medal winner at the Olympic Games made a well-trained impression, although Murray seemed somewhat slimmer than before his forced break. He took it after his defeat against Sam Querrey in Wimbledon.
Whether the double champion will compete on Church Road in a few days is by no means certain. “I don’t want to rule out playing in Eastbourne next week and then skipping Wimbledon,” Murray said. “It could also be that I’m not playing a tournament next week, but taking part in a show fight to prepare myself for Wimbledon.”