As he continues to work his way back from a lengthy injury break from the sport, British tennis star Sir Andy Murray is hopeful of better things to come in 2023.
The Scot managed to reach the third round of the US Open this year and the 35-year-old has his eyes set on challenging deeper into Grand Slam tournaments in the future.
Murray Back From The Brink
After enduring a torrid time with a hip injury, which saw him undergo two major surgeries and almost saw him retire, the former world number one is back competing at Grand Slam events. Murray, who is +6600 in the tennis odds today to win the Australian Open next year, said he was proud to be back challenging the world’s best after defeat to Matteo Berrettini at the US Open. The three-time Grand Slam champion, who is an outsider in tennis tips to add another major title to his name, pushed the Italian Berrettini hard but ended up on the wrong end of a 6-4 6-4 6-7 (1-7) 6-3 scoreline.
While Murray struggled with his serve at times at Flushing Meadows, he was still able to produce shots to cause Berrettini problems, especially in the third set. It was the 26-year-old Berrettini who progressed through to the last 16 in New York City but Murray has taken plenty from the experience. It was the first time he’d managed to reach the third round at Flushing Meadows since 2016 and it has been a long road back to this point. The 2012 US Open champion has seemingly put too much pressure on him to get back to the top of the game but he does appear to be making progress.
Promising Signs For 2023
While it would take something special to add to his three Grand Slam titles, there are promising signs Murray could find himself competing at the latter stages of major tournaments once again. The two-time Wimbledon champion continues to work under coach Ivan Lendl, who helped him reach the peak of his powers from 2012 and 2016. Murray found himself back in the world’s top 50 this year, which is another sign his game is moving in the right direction after the two hip operations.
While Murray is of course approaching the end of his playing career, the Scotsman does not seem to have lost his competitive drive. It’s that spirit that helped Murray land his Grand Slam and Olympic titles and helped him climb to the top of the world men’s rankings. Murray will be fully aware of his physical limitations but his hunger to claim more titles before he finally retires remains undiminished.
Murray will already go down as one of Britain’s greatest ever tennis players but perhaps the knight of the realm has one or two more surprises on the big stage still up his sleeve.
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