Fingers crossed he recovers for Australia as I'm heading to the Open for a couple of days. Would be so disappointing if he's not there for my special trip.
Seems very sensible from Andy. I trust that he was genuinely very close to competing at the US Open, but partly that clear huge frustration that he didn't make it has made up his mind for him, to take that extended time off to get fixed rather than say face the same agonies come the Australian Open.
If he will be out for a little while he might as well abandon the whole of the rest of the season, I rather hope he does. With his points to defend he will soon be falling down the rankings anyway and he is now down to #11 in the live race, behind Carreno Busta and Querrey, so even now out of the top 8 even if you take out Djokovic and Wawrinka. I see little to be gained and maybe much to lose by trying to get back into O2 contention.
Fit and well opportunity beckons for a great year in 2018, though he may have some err rather interesting draws for a while.
The Australian Open seedings should be fun, kinda ( OK maybe not very ) like some leading F1 drivers being given new engine grid penalties so having to work a tricky path through the field. I hope that Andy is well renewed so ready to surge through !
-- Edited by indiana on Wednesday 6th of September 2017 02:32:47 PM
Probably looking at another 2014 year next season then. It's the right decision, but such a shame how injury-hit he's been this year. Been a complete write-off, really.
I really hope he can get himself back to full fitness next season and we see him back in the upper echelons of the game again in 2018/19.
If Andy can mend quickly enough to have a normal fully intense off season prep, maybe even longer than usual, he could hit the ground running. I don't believe he had such prep prior to the 2014 season and indeed didn't have full confidence in his back until well into it.
The women in the quarter finals and beyond at the US Open have shown what can be achieved there and before since some comebacks. The saying "you take as long to get back as you are out" may just possibly equate near some average but it is bull as an individual predictor. That really comes down to the individual and their particular circumstances.
Yes and draws/seedings wise Andy might be fortunate in that Stan, Novak, Milos, Kei etc will all be ranked in the 10-20 zone as well so ironically he may encounter draws not any more different than to what he now faces if he manages to avoid Roger and Rafa.
I noticed the Mubadala World Tennis event in Abu Dhabi had named 4 of the 6 player field (Rafa,Thiem, Raonic, carreno-busta), with 2 places left open. I wondered if they are holding a place open for Andy, it would be a perfect intro back in if he is got by end December. Of course, Stan, Nishikori and others such as kyrgios might also be lined up, but Andy has played there before and is a big draw in the UAE with its large expat community.
-- Edited by JonH on Sunday 22nd of October 2017 09:52:34 AM
I noticed the Mubadala World Tennis event in Abu Dhabi had named 4 of the 6 player field (Rafa,Thiem, Raonic, carreno-busta), with 2 places left open. I wondered if they are holding a place open for Andy, it would be a perfect intro back in if he is got by end December. Of course, Stan, Nishikori and others such as kyrgios might also be lined up, but Andy has played there before and is a big draw in the UAE with its large expat community.
-- Edited by JonH on Sunday 22nd of October 2017 09:52:34 AM
Last I heard Nishikori was planning a post AO comeback, so it wouldn't be him I wouldn't have thought. He only just started hitting with proper tennis balls this past week.
Fingers crossed he recovers for Australia as I'm heading to the Open for a couple of days. Would be so disappointing if he's not there for my special trip.
I noticed the Mubadala World Tennis event in Abu Dhabi had named 4 of the 6 player field (Rafa,Thiem, Raonic, carreno-busta), with 2 places left open. I wondered if they are holding a place open for Andy, it would be a perfect intro back in if he is got by end December. Of course, Stan, Nishikori and others such as kyrgios might also be lined up, but Andy has played there before and is a big draw in the UAE with its large expat community.
-- Edited by JonH on Sunday 22nd of October 2017 09:52:34 AM
Well, that idea is knocked for six - looks like Djokovic and Wawrinka are ahead of Andy in their return/recovery and have signed up for those last two places in Abu Dhabi
There is encouraging news of Andy's progress in a short article in today's Times reporting on Kyle's appointment of a new coach (the Swede, Fredrik Rosengren - discussed on his dedicated thread):
Sources close to his camp say that practice sessions on the All England Club indoor courts are going well as he prepares for his exhibition match against Roger Federer at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow on November 7.
Earlier in the article, which also discusses Kyle's chances of progressing in Vienna, there are comments on Andy's ranking:
The defending champion, Andy Murray, is absent after ending his season early to aid his recovery from a hip injury. Unable to defend his 500 ranking points, he will drop to No 4 on Monday if Alexander Zverev, the 20-year-old German, wins the title. A more drastic fall is inevitable for Murray the following week, on November 6, when he loses the 2,500 ranking points he earned for winning the Paris Masters and the ATP Finals in London last year. It will mean he tumbles to around No 15.