Andy Murray surgery looks increasingly likely as he bids to rescue career

Surgery: It looks increasingly likely that Murray will go under the knife
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Paul Newman4 January 2018

Andy Murray had been hoping to avoid surgery on the hip injury which has kept him out of competition since Wimbledon, but as he headed home this morning it was looking increasingly likely that he would need an operation in order to save his career.

Murray withdrew on Thursday from the Australian Open, which starts in 11 days, having pulled out of the Brisbane International 48 hours earlier.

The Scot, who has never revealed the exact nature of the injury, wanted to avoid surgery because he felt the chances of success were “not as I high as I would like”, but six months of rest and rehabilitation have failed to restore his fitness to the level needed to compete with the very best.

Nevertheless, Murray may yet decide to continue with his recovery programme in the knowledge that some players have followed this route successfully. Twelve months ago, South Africa’s Kevin Anderson was dealing with a hip injury which kept him out of the Australian Open but recovered to reach his first Grand Slam final in New York later in the year.

Hip injuries have become a big problem in tennis, particularly since the majority of tournaments are played on unforgiving hard courts. Running, twisting and turning on such surfaces can take a heavy toll on the body.

Greg Rusedski and Gustavo Kuerten are among those whose careers have been ended by hip injuries and Lleyton Hewitt and David Nalbandian also suffered with serious problems.

Nick Kyrgios has been dealing with a long-term problem, while Johanna Konta joined the injured hip list today as she was forced to retire from her quarter-final here when trailing Elina Svitolina 1-6, 7-6, 3-2.

Konta, who said she would know more about the extent of her injury tomorrow, is hoping it will not jeopardise her chances of playing in Sydney next week or at the Australian Open.

“Hips take a massive beating,” said Konta (left). “Our game is becoming more and more physical and the demands of the tour, week in and week out, are becoming greater. Hips definitely take a beating, but so do knees, shoulders, ankles, wrists, back, lower back — and everything in between.”

In Pictures | Andy Murray

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This month’s Australian Open was supposed to be the comeback tournament for a number of the top players who had brought their 2017 seasons to an early end because of injury, but Murray’s withdrawal follows that of Kei Nishikori, who is recovering from a wrist problem, while Novak Djokovic (elbow) and Rafael Nadal (knee) are by no means certain starters.

Djokovic will decide after playing two exhibition events in Melbourne next week. Nadal pulled out of Brisbane last week but headed to Melbourne today.

Doubts also remain over Serena Williams’s participation. The former world No1, who gave birth to a daughter only four months ago, is still on the Melbourne entry list but returned home last week after playing an exhibition match in Abu Dhabi.

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