Mark Petchey: Andy Murray believes he can win another Grand Slam

ATP Tour

Shahida Jacobs
July 21, 2019

Andy Murray’s former coach Mark Petchey says the former world No 1 would not have made a return to competitive tennis “if he didn’t genuinely feel he had a chance” to win another Grand Slam title.

After initially announcing on the eve of the Australian Open that he is likely to retire after this year’s Wimbledon due to his long-standing hip problem, Murray reversed this decision after undergoing surgery at the end of January.

He finally made his return in June as he opted to take tentative steps by only competing in the doubles, but it was a comeback to remember as he won the Queen’s Club title alongside Feliciano Lopez.

Murray then revealed before Wimbledon that he is confident that he could still compete with the best in singles, saying: “A lot of the same guys are still there. Why not? If someone can give me a reason why I shouldn’t be able to compete again, then I would listen to it, but so far I haven’t really been given one.”

And his former mentor Petchey says the Scot is backing himself to compete against the likes f Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer for major honours.

“Winning, being No 1 in the world, taking another Slam, that is what he wants,” he is quoted as saying in Herald Scotland.

“To be competitive, to get out there and give himself a chance against his biggest rivals, that is what Andy is looking to do.

“There is no way in my opinion that Andy would come back if he didn’t genuinely feel he had a chance in one of these big four events.”

The 32-year-old has admitted that he is unlikely to compete in the singles at the US Open and Petchey feels Murray should consider playing an ATP Challenger event before he gives the ATP Tour a go.

“The doubles court and practice looks fantastic, but a lot will depend long term on the workload that he is going to have to put on himself to get him back into the kind of physical conditioning he needs to do well on the singles court,” he said.

“In terms of hitting a ball he doesn’t look far off it all to be honest but to put that together with all the movement he needs is going to be extremely challenging. That is why there is such a good case for playing a Challenger event first, just to get back on the court. We have to understand what it entails to get back. There is no point rushing it.”

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Andy Murray