Andy Murray's groin problem puts Australian Open preparations on hold

Andy Murray has cancelled his planned training block in Miami – which had been scheduled to begin last week – as a result of the groin problem which is disrupting his preparations for next month’s Australian Open.

Murray had intended to take a shorter-than-usual trip to Miami – where he has a second home overlooking the seafront – to prepare for the first grand slam event of the season with his support staff. But he continues to be troubled by the pelvic-bone bruise that he sustained last month, and which kept him off the court for most of Great Britain’s Davis Cup campaign in Madrid. Although Murray’s hip has ceased to trouble him since he underwent resurfacing surgery almost a year ago, his body continues to throw up niggles, probably as a result of the two years spent without regular tennis after his most recent Wimbledon campaign in 2017.​

Sources suggested that he could still train in the gym, but was unable to practise on the court at the moment. This is not yet seen as a major problem given that there are still three weeks to go before the ATP Cup. Murray is planning to use that new team event as his warm-up for the Australian Open, which begins on Jan 20.​

Murray acknowledged last month, during the publicity campaign for Amazon Prime Video’s recent movie about his hip operation, that he was uncertain how serious the groin problem might be. “It [the bone bruise] is mild, so it shouldn’t be long. But with injuries and stuff, I know not to listen to everything you’re told, time frame-wise.”​

Murray is the first man to attempt to play elite singles tennis with a metal hip. And as his fitness trainer, Matt Little, said last month, “There has been no blueprint for this. In fact, the right hip is the best thing about his body right now. It’s a brand new metal joint. It’s his other hip, his shoulders, his back, his knees – all these other things will all bear the brunt of competition as well. They will be working probably even harder to support that right hip.​

“[Murray’s future path] is a completely unknown entity,” Little added. “We just cannot make any predictions. It’s a process of preparing him for matches, seeing how he goes, then reviewing it afterwards and starting again.”​

Murray used his last protected ranking to enter the ATP Cup. At No 126 in the world, he is slightly too low to earn automatic entry to the main draw of the Australian Open, so he is relying on a wild card from Tennis Australia – the same governing body which commissioned a farewell video for him 12 months ago, featuring messages of goodwill from all his leading rivals.​

He has also announced that he is entering the Open Sud de France, a 250-point event held in Montpellier from Feb 3 to 12. Given that the Australian Open only finishes on Feb 2, the implication is that he is not expecting to play in this year’s final.