Britain’s Andy Murray celebrates after winning the the third set tie-breaker against Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut during their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 14, 2019. (AP Photo/Andy Brownbill)
Andy Murray will put his “heart and soul” into trying to return to professional tennis, his mother Judy has said, although she admitted the player’s future is unclear.
The 31-year-old underwent hip resurfacing surgery at the end of January in a final throw of the dice to try to overcome the problem that first became a serious issue in 2017.
The operation was performed primarily to improve his quality of life, with Murray revealing that he struggled simply to put on his socks and shoes, but also offered a potential route back to the sport.
“He is doing pretty well. It is not that long since he had the operation and time will tell,” Judy Murray told Sky Sports.
“Nobody knows how he is going to recover in the longer term. He is in a good place mentally and we just keep our fingers crossed.
“But I tell you, if anybody can do it he can because he will put his heart and soul into it like he does with everything.”
The former world number one announced at an emotional press conference ahead of the Australian Open in January that he planned to retire after Wimbledon but was more hopeful following a remarkable five-set defeat by Roberto Bautista Agut in the first round.
No player has come back from the same operation to play singles but American Bob Bryan recently returned in doubles and won an ATP Tour title in Delray Beach last month with his brother Mike.
Bryan said in Australia that he no longer felt any pain and backed Murray to follow him by making a comeback.