‘Don’t expect my best’ – Andy Murray keen to manage expectations ahead of Zhuhai return

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Andy Murray fist pump

Andy Murray has moved to manage expectations as he steps up his singles comeback bid at Zhuhai this week, saying it would be ‘naive’ to believe he can get back to his best so soon.

The former world and British number one has stepped away from doubles to focus entirely on his singes prospects after two years of battling a hip problem.

He will play three tournaments in China during the Asian swing, starting with Zhuhai, but he says that he is only really looking towards conditioning right now.

“I’m not expecting to get back to my very best,” he told BBC Sport.

“I think it would be probably a bit naive and silly to think that would be the case.

“I’d like to try to get 12 to 15 matches between now and the end of the year so my body gets used to competing and playing matches consistently again,” he said.

“I hadn’t done that for two years. It’s been a really long time, so it takes time for your body to build up.”

US legend John McEnroe has said that he believes Murray can return to his former glories given enough time, and the Scot is certainly aiming high himself too.

“I do feel like tennis-wise I can still compete at the highest level in terms of my skill, it’s just whether physically I can get to a high enough level to be competitive right at the top,” Murray added.

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