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Tag: Andy Murray

  • BREAKING: Novak Djokovic appoints greatest rival, Andy Murray as his coach

    BREAKING: Novak Djokovic appoints greatest rival, Andy Murray as his coach

    Novak Djokovic has announced appointing his “greatest rival”, Andy Murray as his coach ahead of the Australian Open.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Djokovic made the announcement in a video posted on his official X account on Saturday.

    “I am excited to have one of my greatest rivals on the same side of the net, as my coach.

    “We had some of the most epic battles in our sport. I thought our story was over, turns out it has one final chapter.

    “It is time for one of my toughest opponents to step into my corner,” Djokovic said in the video.

    TNG reports Murray retired in August after exiting the men’s doubles at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

    The three-time Grand Slam winner lost four Australian Open finals to Djokovic in 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2016.

    However, he claimed victory over Djokovic at the US Open in 2012 and Wimbledon in 2013.

    Meanwhile, Murray has confirmed the development.

    “I’m going to be joining Novak’s team in the off-season, helping him to prepare for the Australian Open.

    “I’m really excited for it and looking forward to spending time on the same side of the net as Novak for a change, helping him to achieve his goals,” Murray confirmed in a statement.

  • Andy Murray’s hopes of winning French Open dashed

    Andy Murray’s hopes of winning French Open dashed

    Andy Murray’s Sojourn at the French Open came to an end on Sunday after suffering defeat to a straight sets first-round defeat to 2015 champion and fellow three-time Grand Slam title winner Stan Wawrinka who hailed the Briton as “a great champion”

    Murray, a losing finalist  at Roland Garros in 2016, lost 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 in his last appearance at the tournament before retiring later this year.

    Wawrinka becomes only the third man over the age of 39 to win a match at the French Open since 1980.

    Murray, 37, had already announced he plans to retire later in the summer with Wimbledon and the Paris Olympics as the two high-profile events left on his schedule.

    On Sunday, he left to a standing ovation from the crowd on Court Philippe Chatrier and Murray returned the gesture by applauding the fans.

    Wawrinka, who has now defeated Murray three times in four meetings in Paris, described his opponent as a “great champion”.

    The Swiss veteran goes on to face either Cameron Norrie of Britain or Russia’s Pavel Kotov for a place in the third round.

    “My first words are for a great champion,” Wawrinka told Eurosport courtside after the pair’s 23rd career meeting.

     

  • Murray out of Indian Wells after clash with Zverev

    Murray out of Indian Wells after clash with Zverev

    Andy Murray battled Alexander Zverev every step of the way but was unable to overcome the German third seed at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, falling 6-4 7-6 (4).

    The Scottish former world number one began the third round clash in fine form, racing away to an early break before Zverev was able to settle into his rhythm and narrowly take the first set.

    The second set began in similar fashion, with Murray again going up a break before allowing Zverev back into the match.

    Murray made the most of some uncharacteristic mistakes from Zverev to force a tiebreak, but the 2020 U.S. Open finalist was able to win the crucial points to make it through to the fourth round.

    Zverev paid tribute to Murray’s performance in his on-court interview after the match.

    “He’s the only one of the Big Four that I hadn’t beaten yet, so I’m happy that I’ve done it today,” he said.

    “I always stayed in the match, even though I was down a break in both sets. I always knew I had a chance. Especially the second set I think was an extremely high level from both of us. It could have gone both ways.

    “Obviously, it was a fantastic match. I thought Andy played extremely well, maybe as well as he’s played since the (hip) surgery.

    “I hope he continues playing the same way, because tennis did miss him for a long time and I think its good to have him back.”

    Zverev has set up a round of 16 clash with Gael Monfils, who punched his ticket with a 7-5, 6-2 victory over Kevin Anderson.

    Greek second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas was pushed all the way by Italy’s Fabio Fognini but held on for a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 win.

    Tsitsipas struggled in the first set but was ultimately able to rely on his service game to get across the line, picking up 10 aces to just one for Fognini.

    American Taylor Fritz pulled off the upset of the day, cruising past Italian fifth seed Matteo Berrettini in straight sets 6-4, 6-3.

    Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili fought back from a dropped first set to defeat Spain’s Albert Ramos-Vinolas 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-2 in a marathon two hours and 23 minutes.

    Karen Khachanov of Russia faced little pressure as he eased past Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta 6-0, 6-4, while Australia’s Alex de Minaur downed Chile’s Cristian Garin 6-4, 6-2.

  • Murray backs Federer’s “sensible decision” to withdraw from French Open

    Murray backs Federer’s “sensible decision” to withdraw from French Open

    Former world number one Andy Murray says 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer made a “sensible decision” to withdraw from the French Open.

    The Swiss said he had to protect his body after two knee operations and opted to focus his efforts on Wimbledon.

    Federer, 39, decided to end his Roland Garros campaign on Sunday, a day after winning a gruelling third-round match against Dominik Koepfer.

    Eight-time Wimbledon winner Federer, who has hardly played in the last 17 months because of a knee injury.

    He had been due to face Italian ninth seed Matteo Berrettini in the French Open on Monday.

    Replying to a tweet from a user who said Federer was “disrespectful” to other players for “using” the French Open to gain fitness, Murray said:

    “In basketball, football, et cetera when returning from injury players are given reduced minutes to build up their fitness.

    “In tennis you don’t have that luxury of just playing a set in (the) first match, then two sets (in) the next, et cetera and building up that way.

    “I’d argue that it’s quite risky to play multiple four hour matches in a row in your second tournaments back in 18 months.

    “So, to me, it makes sense to be reactive based on how your body feels, length of matches et cetera (sic).”

    Federer’s decision sparked mixed reactions, with seven-time French Open winner Chris Evert saying the Swiss had earned the right to do so.

    Former U.S. Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe said he understood Federer’s reasoning, but it was not a good look.

  • Andy Murray tests positive for COVID-19

    Andy Murray tests positive for COVID-19

    Andy Murray, a three-time Grand Slam winner and former world number one tennis player has tested positive for coronavirus.

    The 33-year-old is currently self-isolating at home and said to be in good health, is hoping to be able to arrive in Australia at a later date and still participate in the AustraliaOpen which begins on February 8.

    Murray’s positive test comes after a minor outbreak at Roehampton’s National Tennis Centre last week – where Murray has done the bulk of his recent training.

    Although the tennis star is yet to confirm the information on his social media account, An LTA spokesperson confirmed the development saying that “An individual using the NTC has returned a positive Covid-19 test result.

    “We have established processes in place for this eventuality and have traced those who have been in contact with the individual, interviewed them, and asked them to self-isolate for 10 days.

    “Public Health England has been notified and we are ensuring processes are being followed, including additional deep cleaning, to ensure that the NTC remains a Covid-secure venue.”

    Murray who hopes to participate in the tournament has appeared five times in the finals of the event.

  • Andy Murray given French Open wildcard

    Andy Murray given French Open wildcard

    Britain’s former world number one Andy Murray has been given a wildcard to the main draw of this month’s French Open.

    The 33-year-old Scot, currently ranked 110, required hip resurfacing surgery in 2019 to save his career and reached the US Open second round this month.

    Murray, winner of three Grand Slams and French finalist in 2016, has not appeared at the event since losing to Stan Wawrinka in the 2017 semi-finals.

    This year’s first round begins at Roland Garros on 27 September.

    All the other wildcards in the men’s competition are French, while in the women’s singles, there are places for Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard, a French Open semi-finalist and Wimbledon finalist in 2014, and 2020 US Open quarter-finalist Tsvetana Pironkova.

    Murray qualified for the semi-finals at Roland Garros for four consecutive years from 2014-2017 but will enter the tournament without any competitive action on clay after he decided against playing at the Italian Open this week.

  • Revised ATP calendar not safe for players, says Murray

    Three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray said on Saturday the ATP’s revised calendar which includes seven tournaments in as many weeks is not safe for players, who will be forced to skip major events, due to the crammed schedule.

    The ATP tour, which was suspended in March, due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, is set to restart on Aug. 14 with the Citi Open, followed by the Cincinnati Masters, which will be held at Flushing Meadows before the U.S. Open.

    The men’s claycourt swing will start on Sept. 8 in Kitzbuhel, followed by Masters tournaments in Madrid and Rome on Sept. 13 and Rome Masters on Sept. 20, with the French Open set to begin a week later.

    “It’s not safe for players to go from the semi-finals or final in New York… and then play in Madrid at altitude on clay when they haven’t competed for a long time,” Murray told a news conference during the ‘Battle of the Brits’ charity tournament.

    “You’re going to have the potential where a lot of top players are not competing at many of the biggest events.”

    The 33-year-old said with events coming thick and fast changes would need to be made with respect to players’ ranking points.

    “It might be worth looking at a two-year ranking for the time being maybe so that guys who have done well last year and are sort of not really able to defend their points properly aren’t kind of punished,” the twice Wimbledon champion said.

    Murray suggested he will skip the tournament in Cincinnati to get his preparations for the U.S. Open in order.

    “I would rather play Washington and miss the event the week before at the U.S. Open if they all go ahead,” he added.

    Murray returned to action following a seven-month injury layoff at the charity event organised by his brother Jamie this week, progressing to the semi-finals before losing 1-6 6-3 10-8 to Dan Evans.

  • My priority is to play at U.S., French Open – Murray

    Former world number one Andy Murray says he is looking forward to competing at the U.S. Open and French Open later this year but only if it is safe enough amid the COVID-19 pandemic that shut down the sport in March.

    The U.S. Open will be staged without fans as scheduled from August 31 to September 13 in New York while the postponed French Open will be held from September 27 to October 11.

    Earlier this month, world number one Novak Djokovic said strict health protocols at the U.S. Open would prevent players from bringing more than one person on their support team to the venue but Murray said that was an arrangement he was fine with.

    “Playing the Grand Slams would be my priority. “I think the schedule is tricky and I understand the reason why it is like that.

    “I don’t mind what the situation is, provided it is safe. If I was told I could take one person with me… you can make that work.

    “I’d probably go with a physio and some coaching could be done remotely,” Murray was quoted by British media as saying on Monday.

    The ATP and WTA Tours are set to resume in August but the spotlight is on the sport after Grigor Dimitrov and Borna Coric tested positive, following their participation in Djokovic’s Adria Tour exhibition tournament.

    Murray, 33, has not competed since playing in the Davis Cup in November, due to complications with his hip but is set to return on Tuesday at a behind-closed-doors tournament in London, the ‘Battle of the Brits’, organised by his brother Jamie.

    “My hip has been feeling better for probably the past three or four weeks. It feels better than it did in March.

    “Right now, I feel a little bit more confident because I’ve had more training under my belt, more practice.

    ” In March time, I’d only been practising for four or five weeks since I’d had the issues.” he added.

  • Andy Murray undergoes hip surgery

    Former world number one Andy Murray has undergone a hip resurfacing surgery in London, the 31-year-old Scot said on Tuesday.

    Murray has struggled to regain form since undergoing hip surgery last year and was knocked out in the first round of the Australian Open earlier this month, having said the tournament could be his last as a professional.

    His post on Instagram featured an X-ray picture of his hip.
    “I now have a metal hip “Feeling a bit battered and bruised just now but hopefully that will be the end of my hip pain,” Murray wrote in his post.

    In an emotional news conference in Melbourne ahead of the Australian Open, Murray announced he would retire this year, preferably after a farewell appearance at Wimbledon.

    The two-time Olympic champion told BBC this month that surgery was the only option if he wanted to extend his career.

    “There is a strong possibility I won’t come back and play after an operation. I want to play tennis, but not with the hip I have right now,” he said.

    The ATP Tour posted a tweet in support for Murray: “Get well soon Andy, we know you will do everything to get back on tour!”

    Three-time Grand Slam Murray initially had surgery on his right hip in January 2018 and has played 15 matches since returning to action last June.

    He was due to play in next month’s Marseille Open but withdrew from the tournament last week.

  • Australian Open: Andy Murray out despite heroic effort against Bautista Agut

    Andy Murray produced a performance that belied his physical limitations but ultimately lost to Roberto Bautista Agut, going down 6-4 6-4 6-7(5) 6-7(4) 6-2.

    The 31-year-old fought back from two sets and a break down to force a decider but Bautista Agut managed to hold his nerve to seal his spot in round two, where he will face home hope John Millman, Eurosport reports.

    Hip surgery a year ago has left the three-time Grand Slam champion in severe pain and Murray, 31, said last week that the year’s first Grand Slam could be his last tournament.

    However, the five-time Australian Open finalist showed remarkable levels of tenacity to push his dogged opponent all the way in a performance that defied the hip injury that looks set to cut his career short. Murray’s resilient display was roared on by the Melbourne crowd on an emotionally-charged night.

    In Bautista Agut, Murray found himself drawn against a player with remarkable levels of endurance, and ultimately, after a wobble, the Spaniard’s superior mobility paid dividends after a match that lasted four hours and 14 minutes.

    Afterwards a visibly emotional Murray thanked a packed Melbourne Arena but left the door ajar for another improbable comeback.

    “It [the atmosphere] was incredible, thank you so, so much to everyone who came out tonight.

    “I’ve honestly loved playing here over the years, it’s an amazing place to play tennis.

    “Maybe I’ll see you again – I’ll do everything possible to try but I’ll have to have a big operation that there’s no guarantee I can come back from,” added Murray.

    “But I’ll give it my best shot.”