Andy Murray provides fitness update after worrying scenes in US tournament

Andy Murray has confirmed that his body feels “pretty good” despite limping off during the second of his three matches at the Halle of Fame Open in the US. The Brit entered the ATP 250 event after a disappointing Wimbledon campaign was ended in the second round.

Murray meant business from the off and thrashed American Sam Querrey 6-2, 6-0 in his opening match of the tournament.

But Australian doubles champion Max Purcell proved a much sterner test in the second round. Murray had to come from a set down to win 4-6, 6-2, 6-1.

After that match the 35-year-old was spotted limping off the court, sparking concerns of another injury.

However, the three-time Grand Slam champion explained that his fitness was fine after losing 7-5, 6-4 to Alexander Bublik in the quarter-finals on Friday night.

“Obviously I just want the results to be a bit better. I felt like I had a good chance of [advancing] here,” he said.

“If I got through Bublik, it would have been a good opportunity potentially in the semi-finals.

“But… to have my body feeling pretty good and getting lots of matches in is important for me.”

Murray had an impressive grass-court campaign in the build-up to Wimbledon as he reached the semi-finals of the Surbiton Trophy and lost to Matteo Berrettini in the Stuttgart Open final.

“The grass-court season as a whole there were some good moments, but also some tough ones,” he reflected.

“Today’s match and the loss at Wimbledon were disappointing and frustrating for me, but then I also had my best wins in a while in Stuttgart.

“So a bit up and down, but a little bit of progress overall and I’ll try and keep that going through the hard-court summer.”

He added: “[I want] to continue to improve. If I keep seeing progress I’ll continue to keep playing.”

Murray met with Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins before his showdown with Bublik.

“I’d never actually met any NFL athletes before, but he seemed like he loved his tennis and he was saying that he feels like a lot of the movements you make in tennis are similar to a quarterback,” he explained.

“He would prefer to do an hour of tennis to an hour of agility drills, which I can understand as you get a little bit older, trying to keep things fresh and fun in training in preseason is important.”

“But… to have my body feeling pretty good and getting lots of matches in is important for me.”

Murray had an impressive grass-court campaign in the build-up to Wimbledon as he reached the semi-finals of the Surbiton Trophy and lost to Matteo Berrettini in the Stuttgart Open final.

“The grass-court season as a whole there were some good moments, but also some tough ones,” he reflected.

“Today’s match and the loss at Wimbledon were disappointing and frustrating for me, but then I also had my best wins in a while in Stuttgart.

“So a bit up and down, but a little bit of progress overall and I’ll try and keep that going through the hard-court summer.”

source: express.co.uk