Andy Murray has still to decide if he will compete at Wimbledon next week even after recording his first win in almost a year beating Stan Wawrinka.
Former world number one Murray won 6-1, 6-3 in the south coast English town of Eastbourne in Monday during a warm-up event for Wimbledon, the last of tennis four majors still played on grass.
It took him just an hour and 17 minute to defeat Wawrinka, with the Scot’s victory raising hopes he could compete at Wimbledon, where he won the second of his two men’s singles titles in 2017.
But matches in Grand Slams are the best of five set contests and Murray, who lost to Australia’s Nick Kyrgios in three on the grass of London’s Queen’s Club last week before beating Swiss star Wawrinka in two after accepting a late wildcard entry into Eastbourne, was wary of getting carried away.
“My health and my body are my priority right now,” insisted Murray, who spent 11 months on the sidelines with a hip injury that required surgery in January. “I will make that decision when I’m ready.
“If I feel like I’m in good enough shape, I’ll do it. If I don’t, then obviously I won’t play. I’m coming back from a very serious injury which is not easy.
“I’m not putting any pressure on myself to make that decision after one match here or two matches, because I don’t need to. I can decide when I want.”
The 31-year-old Murray added: “The match with Nick was two hours 45 minutes, and the slams, you have to be prepared for four hours. That (against Kyrgios) obviously could have gone another couple of sets potentially, and I didn’t feel great the following day.”
Murray, also the 2012 US Open winer, is faces British rising star Kyle Edmund in the second round at Eastbourne on Wednesday.
In Murray’s absence, Edmund has become the British number one, not that Murray was especially worried about the loss of that particular designation.
“I don’t care so much about those sort of tags, but certainly a lot has changed since the last time we played,” said Murray, the reigning double Olympic champion after winning gold at both the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Games.
“It’s a really good test for me. I would have played, in the space of a week, 10 days, three excellent players. Another match against someone as good as Kyle is a really positive thing for me.”
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!