Andy Murray Should Forget About Rankings If He Wants To Challenge For Major Honours Again

Andy Murray Should Forget About Rankings If He Wants To Challenge For Major Honours Again
09:55, 11 Jan 2018

Over the last couple of weeks, a number of top-ranked players announced they were going to miss the Australian Open because of various injury troubles.

When Andy Murray added himself to the list of those that will be absent from the first Grand Slam of the year it was a major disappointment for Britain and tennis fans in general.

Although teasing a return by planning to play in last week’s Brisbane International he soon admitted his body wasn’t right and subsequently pulled out just days before the opening match.

The news broke not long after that Murray had taken the bold decision to have hip surgery, with the Brit aiming to be back in competitive action within the next six months.

Whilst this is a major setback for the new campaign it is also a chance to take a step back and put things into perspective.

For so many years he was hell-bent on becoming the world number one, often adopting a grueling schedule in order to amass the necessary points.

At that point in his career the potential rewards clearly outweighed any of the risks but now entering the latter stages, it could be necessary to take a more measured approach.

You only have to look at one of his main adversaries and arguably the greatest men’s player to grace a court in recent history, Roger Federer.

The 19-time Grand Slam winner finished playing halfway through the 2016 season, fully aware of the rest his body needed to overcome a knee injury.

A number of years older than Murray it was clear to see the greater wisdom demonstrated by Federer when he retired for the campaign just after losing in the semi-finals at Wimbledon.

At the start of last year, there were many who predicted the then world number 16 would struggle to make it to the second week at Melbourne but he proved all the critics wrong by winning the tournament.

Throughout the whole event he looked a man reborn, eventually coming out on top in a dramatic five-set final against Rafael Nadal.

Fully aware of how beneficial the extended break had been Federer took another few months off so that he was in tip-top condition for the grass court season. Turning up at Wimbledon, he looked imperious and played like someone ten years younger, not dropping a set on the way to a record eighth triumph at the All England Club.

This is exactly the kind of approach Murray might benefit from. Former British number one Andrew Castle recently insisted the Scotsman wouldn’t be able to compete with the best players in the world if he went ahead with hip surgery.

This sort of statement proves just how much of an uphill struggle it is going to be for Murray to return. With that in mind, he would be wise to try and limit the strain on his body whilst still giving himself the opportunity to add to his collection of three Grand Slams.

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