"I could easily have felt sorry for myself and not done rehab" - Andy Murray on recent injury recovery experience ahead of French Open 2024
Former World No. 1 Andy Murray talked about his experience of recovering from an ankle injury in a press conference yesterday. He admitted that his return was surprising, as it was sooner than anticipated.
Murray injured his ankle during his clash against Czech Tomas Machac on March 21 at the Miami Open. Subsequently, the Brit had to withdraw from the Monte Carlo Masters and Munich Open.
The Brit gave insight on his recent injury recovery and considered it surprising. He was quoted as saying: [9:00]
"I was starting to play pretty well I was in a great position in the match. And yeah, it was a really unfortunate injury but then I was surprised with how I was during the rehab."
For those unaware, Murray didn't undergo surgery and made his return at the Geneva Open. He added that despite the injury, he worked diligently on his recovery instead of feeling sorry for himself and taking a break.
"I felt really motivated and yeah worked extremely hard everyday with my team and my physio and I didn't, there was no holidays or breaks whatever. I feel sorry for myself I just did the work and I was surprised with that because yeah I could quite easily have felt sorry for myself and taken the break and not done the rehab as well as I did."
Murray expressed satisfaction with the recovery process, feeling happy that he recovered sooner than expected.
"So I was proud of that because it would have been easy to have looked at it a different way and I worked really hard to get back and that's one of the reasons I think why I was able to come back a bit sooner than what I'd anticipated," Murray concluded.
The 37-year-old received a wildcard entry for the Geneva Open, a preparatory event for the French Open. However, he was defeated 7-5, 6-2 in the first round by Yannick Hanfmann. Despite this early exit, he remains focused on making a strong run in the upcoming French Open.
Despite winning three Grand Slams in his career, Andy Murray has never won a French Open title. He will start his campaign on May 26.
Andy Murray is set to face Stan Wawrinka in the first round
Andy Murray will face three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka in the first round of the French Open on May 26. The Swiss is a former French Open champion and will aim to win his second clay-court major.
The much-awaited clash will be their 24th overall. Wawrinka has defeated Andy Murray nine times, while Murray has the advantage in head-to-head records with 13 victories. Notably, Wawrinka could have an advantage over Murray in the French Open because of his superior record on clay (5–1).