Is Andy Murray playing at Wimbledon?
The Brit is playing in his first singles match at Wimbledon for four years
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Your support makes all the difference.Andy Murray will make his highly-anticipated Wimbledon return against Nikoloz Basilashvili in the first round on Monday.
The former-British and World No 1 is preparing to play singles at the All England Club for the first time since his hip injuries derailed his career in 2017.
Murray, a two-time Wimbledon champion after winning in 2013 and 2016, limped off Centre Court after his 2017 quarter-final loss to Sam Querrey. The hip issue that plagued him throughout the tournament led to two surgeries, first in January 2018 before another 12 months later.
The second – a resurfacing procedure which means the 34-year-old has a metal hip – came shortly after he tearfully announced at the Australian Open that he thought the problem would force his early retirement.
While the surgeries may have disrupted Murray’s career, they have not ended it.
“The reason why I’m still playing is because I enjoy it and I don’t see any problem with that,” the three-time Grand Slam champion said. “I’m not offending anyone and it’s not hurting anyone. I like it.
“I’ve had so many injuries and so many setbacks you just don’t really know what’s around the corner. I want to approach each tournament and each match that I play like it’s my last one so that I can get the most out of it.”
Murray returned to singles action at Queen’s last week after overcoming a groin injury, losing to top seed Matteo Berrettini before focusing on his preparations for Wimbledon. He has played just four tour-level matches this year ahead of the clash with Georgian 24th seed Basilashvili, who has won two titles in 2021 and reached the semi-finals of the grass-court event in Halle last week.
If he wins, Murray could face Canadian 10th seed Denis Shapovalov in the third round with fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas as a potential quarter-final opponent.
Wimbledon was cancelled last year due to the pandemic, but is set to return on Monday. While Murray will be present, big names such as Simona Halep, Dominic Thiem, Naomi Osaka, and Rafael Nadal have pulled out of the tournament due to injury or fatigue.
Roger Federer, winner of the 2017 edition of Wimbledon which was Murray’s last in singles competition, will start this year’s event by facing Adrian Mannarino, while Novak Djokovic will open against British wildcard Jack Draper as the Serb targets three straight Wimbledon titles.
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