"I couldn't sleep that night...I was in loads of pain" - Andy Murray revisits French Open SF clash against Stan Wawrinka ahead of 2024 rematch
Andy Murray recently opened up about his hip injury, which sidelined him from the sport in the past. The injury resurfaced later in his career during the late 2010s just as Murray was reaching his prime years, robbing him of more time at the top of men's tennis.
After getting eliminated in the 2017 French Open semifinal by Stan Wawrinka in an extraordinary five-setter, the Scot revealed that he had been dealing with the injury since he was 22. The injury also led to his quarterfinal defeat at the Wimbledon Championship in the same year.
Subsequently, Andy Murray had to withdraw for the entire year. Following a hip replacement surgery, the former World No. 1 returned to the sport soon after, and will be in action next at the 2024 French Open. Coincidentally, the Brit has been drawn to face off against Wawrinka in his opener at Roland Garros.
Speaking in his pre-tournament press conference, the 37-year-old recalled how the injury hindered his run in that season. Reflecting on his performance, Murray mentioned losing several matches after leading two sets to one, citing instances at the US Open, Davis Cup, and the notable defeat to Stan Wawrinka.
"I remember before the quarterfinals match I played against Nishikori that something wasn't right. I mean I had issues with my hip for a really long time. And even if you look at some of my results like in the sort of years leading up to that, I'd lost multiple matches from two sets to one up. It happened in the US Open it happened at the Davis Cup, obviously happened here against Stan as well." Murray said.
Murray further explained how the injury left him in pain after the semifinal defeat, revealing that he was unable to move during the fifth set in the semifinal.
"My record when I was in that position throughout my career was excellent and as the longer match were going on I was starting to have issues like one moving but also driving up to serve because of my hip. And then, I remember during that match, during the fifth set like kind of really feeling like I was unable to move and then I couldn't sleep that night."
Murray recounted the intense pain in his hip during that period, recalling sleepless nights and lying on the sofa in agony. After the match, he could no longer extend his leg properly and his hip never recovered afterwards, Murray disclosed.
"My hip was in so much pain I remember we were staying in a house near here and remember getting up and in the night I couldn't sleep. I was just lying on the sofa it was in loads of pain. And yeah never recovered. I couldn't extend my leg behind me anymore properly after that match. And yeah it was a shame."
"I could quite easily have felt sorry for myself and taken the break" - Andy Murray on his recent ankle injury
Andy Murray also talked about his recent ankle injury and his recovery process in the press conference. He admitted that he was surprised as he recovered sooner than he expected. The Brit also disclosed that despite the injury, he remained determined to return and didn't take 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 said.
Murray suffered an injury while facing Czech Tomas Machac at the Miami Open. He didn't appear in the Monte-Carlo Masters and Munich Open after that and made his return as a wildcard at the Geneva Open, where he faced a first-round exit.
Murray, who has never won a French Open title before, will look to win his fourth Grand Slam in Paris this year.