ZCZC
BSP-25
TENNIS-GBR-CHN-MURRAY
Murray set for China dates before ending troubled year
LONDON, Sept 22, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Former Wimbledon champion Andy Murray
will play two tournaments in China before bringing an end to his troubled
campaign.
Murray said on Saturday that he will play in Shenzhen and Beijing, but the
former world number one will miss the final two ATP events in Shanghai and
Paris.
The Scot has struggled with a serious hip injury for more than 12 months
and has hardly played in 2018.
Murray underwent surgery in January in a bid to get over the hip problem,
but he pulled out of several tournaments, including Wimbledon, because he
didn’t feel his body would stand up to the strain.
Murray has only able to play one Grand Slam this year, losing in the US
Open second round, and his ranking has plunged to 308 in the world.
But the 31-year-old hopes that, by adjusting his schedule, he will be in
the best possible position to make a strong start to 2019.
“I’m competing in Shenzen and next week in Beijing before calling an end
to the year competitively. I’ll miss the last couple of tournaments of the
year,” Murray said in a video posted on his Facebook page.
“I need a long period of training and reconditioning to get myself in the
best shape possible for the beginning of the 2019 season and getting myself
back competing for the biggest tournaments again.
“Unfortunately I won’t be competing after Asia, but I’m looking forward to
getting some hard training done and making some more improvements.
“It’s been really positive the last few months. I feel like I made big
strides forward in the rehab from the hip surgery.
“I feel that with another strong training period, I’ll make some big
improvements.
“Hopefully, the next couple of weeks go well in China, looking forward to
it.”
BSS/AFP/ARS/1904 hrs