Andy Murray admits to ‘zero expectations’ for return after year out

In a refreshingly honest briefing at Queen’s Club on Saturday, Andy Murray said that he would need to be realistic about his comeback, which will begin on Tuesday when he faces the talented Australian Nick Kyrgios.

Murray admitted there had been setbacks in his recovery from hip surgery, forcing him to stop hitting balls for the best part of two months between early April and late May.

Now, after just two-and-a-half weeks of renewed effort on the grass courts of London, he will begin what he expects to be a long journey back towards his best form.

“There may be pressure from outside, but I have zero expectations at all for how I play or how I do right now,” said the Scot on Saturday night, as he prepared for his return at the Fever-Tree Championships.

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“I think that’s gonna take some time. Look, I would love to get back to the top of the game, absolutely. I train and do all of those things to give me the best chance to do that. But it’s not the end of the world if I don’t. I just want to be playing again.

“I don’t know if I will be losing to players that I used to win against or not,” Murray added. “In sport, ideally you play to win. But when you have been away from something that you love doing for a year, you kind of realise.

“I started playing tennis because I loved playing. I didn’t start playing tennis to win Wimbledon or to get to No 1 in the world. I never believed that was something I was going to do. It was not something I thought about as a kid growing up. I played tennis because I loved it. I have continued doing that throughout my whole career.

“Pressure and stuff comes as you get older and start to do better. But when you step away and are away from the sport for a long time, you look at things a little bit differently.”

On Tuesday, Murray is sure to start out with a flight of butterflies in his stomach. By then, it will be 342 days since his previous appearance on the tour, when he lost to Sam Querrey in last year’s Wimbledon quarter-final.

Yes, he might have five titles under his belt at Queen’s — more than anyone else in the history of this event.

But over the last year, there have been times when he feared he might not even make it back to the service line.

“I’m not pain-free and I don’t expect that, either,” said Murray. “But I have trained hard and kept myself in shape. I’ve eaten right, not ballooned in weight and gone off the rails. I have listened to the people around me.

“I can only go off what I am told from the doctors and their view is that I absolutely can [be competitive again]. I might not start out by playing my best tennis, but I think it would be quite naive to expect that after 11 months out and a couple of surgeries.

“I need to try to be patient as well, which is not always easy. But after it’s been this long, it will be a time before I am feeling my best.

“If I drew Roger Federer in the first round of Wimbledon, it will be a very difficult draw. But I don’t have huge expectations for how I am going to perform because of how long I have been out and maybe that will help me.”