Andy Murray set for ‘busy’ 2023 as he thanks his wife for ‘continuing to allow me to follow my dream’

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Andy Murray in action

Andy Murray will have an action-packed schedule during the first half of 2023 as he has revealed he will compete in the hard-court swing at the start of the year, followed by the clay-court season and the grass-court campaign.

After a disappointing end to the 2022 season that saw him lose in the second round of the Swiss Indoors and first round of the Paris Masters, Murray admitted he was disappointed with his fitness as he described it is “unacceptable”.

The three-time Grand Slam winner finished the year inside the top 50 in the ATP Rankings and he admitted that he needed to push himself harder during the off-season if he is to continue to challenge the best players in the world.

That off-season will pick up in earnest during his training block in December before he heads out to Australia ahead of the season-opening Grand Slam at Melbourne Park.

“I’ve got a pretty busy schedule planned,” the former world No 1 told Hello! Magazine. “I’ll be kicking off the year in Australia which I always really enjoy.

“I’ll be playing a tournament out there, and then the Australian Open. After that I’ll be doing some more hard-court tournaments, then hopefully the clay, and then back to the UK for the grass-court season.”

Asked about playing at Wimbledon, he replied: “Yes, that’s the plan,” before adding “for now, I’m still focussed on playing tennis and winning matches. I’ve been pleased with my progress this year, but there are definitely some areas to improve on.

“I’ll be doing a training block in December so we’ll be hoping to identify some of those areas and work on them, so hopefully I can get some more wins under my belt next year.”

Following his struggle with form and injury over the past few years as well as the recent retirements of fellow greats Roger Federer and Serena Williams, there had been question marks over whether or not the 36-year-old would continue playing.

However, he has made it clear that he will return in 2023 as he had received the blessing of his wife, Kim.

“My wife is the kindest, for continuing to allow me to follow my dream and play tennis,” he said.

For now he wants to spend time with Kim and his four children before the tennis season gets going again.

“For me, this time of year is the end of the tennis season, so it’s a bit of a time to reflect, and also it means I get to be at home with my family,” he said. “That’s probably the best thing for me. I miss them all so much when I’m away.”

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