"I would love to see Roger back playing again, I really hope we can play another tournament together" - Andy Murray on Roger Federer
Andy Murray got his grasscourt season off to a promising start this year. The three-time Grand Slam champion reached the semifinals of the Surbiton Challenger last week and is now through to the second round in Stuttgart.
Hampered by two hip surgeries in 2018 and 2019, Murray is not giving up on his arduous journey back to the top where he joined Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic as part of the Big 4.
The former World No. 1, in an interview with the ATP tour, said that he would love to see Federer back in action again.
“I would love to see Roger back playing again. It’s always difficult to know when the end is," Murray said.
The 35-year-old Briton noted how the next generation have started to break through, but it is still the same players who win the Grand Slam trophies.
Rafael Nadal won this year's Australian Open and French Open to move to a record 22 Major titles. Last year, Novak Djokovic came close to completing a Calendar Slam before being halted by Daniil Medvedev in the final of the US Open.
Federer, meanwhile, has been sidelined for almost a year. The Swiss last featured in the Wimbledon quarterfinals before undergoing a third knee surgery in 18 months.
“Obviously, people have been talking about it for many years. The next generation have come through, [but] the same guys are still winning the Grand Slams and I’d love to see Roger back competing again. I don’t know his situation, but I believe he will get back to competing. I don’t know how long for, but I really hope we can play another tournament together. It’s been a long time," said Murray.
In comparison to last year, I feel completely different: Andy Murray
Andy Murray set up a clash with Alexander Bublik in the second round in Stuttgart after prevailing against Australian qualifier Christopher O'Connell 6-4, 6-3 in his opener.
Murray won 88 percent of the points on his first serve and converted four of the 12 break points he posted against O'Connell while only getting broken once. He won 72 of the 131 points contested in the match.
Last week, Murray reached the semifinals of the Surbiton Trophy Challenger before bowing out to Denis Kudla in three sets. His road to the last four included wins over Jurij Rodionov, qualifier Gijs Brouwer and Brandon Nakashima.
Andy Murray is through to the next round in Stuttgart after defeating O'Connell 6-4 6-3 💥
@andy_murray | @theweissenhof | #BOSSOPEN https://t.co/L35PaUF1Uo
The two-time Wimbledon champion has prioritized his grasscourt preparations this season, only playing one tournament on clay in Madrid last month. He beat Dominic Thiem and World No. 16 Denis Shapovalov before withdrawing from his match against World No. 1 Djokovic due to stomach illness.
Unlike last year, the Brit said he is not having any physical troubles as he prepares for the Wimbledon Championships.
"In comparison to last year, I feel completely different. Last year I was barely practising in the build-up to Queen’s, and when I was practising I was not moving [well]… I was not feeling good until about four days before Wimbledon, and then I actually felt fine. But my preparation was non-existent," Andy Murray said.
“This year I practiced for three weeks on the grass, didn’t really have any physical issues that were stopping me in my preparation. I got a lot of matches last week, and hopefully some more in the next couple of weeks in the build-up to Wimbledon," he added.