Andy Murray returns to Australia a year after fearing his tennis career was over Down Under. The former world No1 gave an emotional pre-tournament press conference last year in Melbourne where he revealed his struggles with a chronic hip problem – and said he was considering quitting at Wimbledon because he could not live with the pain.
And when he lost his first round match to Roberto Bautista Agut, Australian Open organisers showed a farewell video with tributes from other top players to retire him on the spot.
But the Scot is now heading back to Australia to play the inaugural ATP Cup starting on January 3 – and then the first Grand Slam of the season. “I didn’t think I had said that I was definitely retiring – I don’t know what I had said in the press conference really,” admitted Murray.
“I was so emotional. I didn’t know what I had said. I didn’t think I had said I’m retiring. I think I said I would like to get to Wimbledon to stop. And at the time, that was my plan.
“I didn’t want to play any longer than that because I couldn’t do it any more. And then the video. I can’t really remember what exactly was in it. I think (his former coach) Mark Petchey did the interview with me and it was a tough, tricky moment for him as well.
“That match for me. I said as well to my team and my family afterwards, if that is the end, that is fine. It would have been an amazing way to finish. Brilliant atmosphere, packed crowd, epic match, almost came back. And it was like: That is fine, if I had had to finish there, I would have been ok with it.”
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Instead, after undergoing hip resurfacing surgery, the three-time Grand Slam winner returned to win the doubles in his first event at the Fever Tree Championships in June – and then claimed the European Open singles title at Antwerp in October by beating Stan Wawrinka in the final.
He missed his usual training block in Miami this month to clear up a groin strain he was carrying at the Davis Cup.
Murray had broken down in tears before the last Australian Open after spending the previous 18 months hiding the severity of the condition. The Scot, who opened up about his comeback in the Amazon Prime film Andy Murray: Resurfacing, said: “It was really hard because up until that point, my closest family, friends and my team knew I was really struggling.
“But as a professional athlete, when you turn up at tournaments and you get asked by the media and fellow coaches how you are doing and how are your hips doing, I am not going to say to someone I might be playing next day: ‘Oh my hips feels terrible. I can’t run to my forehand and I can’t serve’.
“So you are always putting on a bit of a front and a brave face to say that I am doing a little bit better, the hip is doing good. But that wasn’t actually the case.
“And then in Australia was the first time I had opened up to everyone and said how much I had been struggling and how I was feeling and that was a really important moment for me because the support from the tennis community was amazing and helped a lot in that period. And I needed it.
“At times during the whole period, I didn’t appreciate how difficult it was for everyone else around me. I was just thinking: Well, they don’t have the pain in their hip, I am the one dealing with this, you don’t know what it is like.
“But obviously you see it in the film and when I look back and reflect on it, there were lots of periods where my team were just as invested in it as I was and putting just as much work and effort into it as I was, they were obviously sad for me as well.”