ANDY MURRAY SAYS he will be fit to defend his men’s singles title at Wimbledon following a recent hip injury.
There were doubts about whether he would able be to recover in time for the tournament, after he withdrew from two warm-up games earlier in the week in an effort to conserve his energy.
The world number one was seen limping while practising at Wimbledon over the weekend, but speaking to reporters on Sunday, Murray confirmed that he is determined to defend his crown.
“I’ll be fine to play the event and play seven matches.”
Murray, a two-time Wimbledon champion, will play the first match on Centre Court on Monday against Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik.
That will be a huge lift for Murray, who admitted he had been worried the hip pain wouldn’t ease off in time for Wimbledon.
“You never know. I haven’t been in that sort of position too often, only a few days before a Slam and not felt good at all,” he said.
“Obviously this is an extremely important tournament, so you worry a little bit. It’s a little bit stressful if you can’t practise for a few days.
“You really want to be preparing, training as much as you can to get ready and make you feel better, especially when you hadn’t had any matches.
“I just tried to think positively. I tried to make the best decisions along with my team to give myself the best chance to feel good on Monday. I feel like I’ve done that.”
Facing world number 134 Bublik should be a gentle introduction to the tournament for Murray, who is desperately short of match practice on grass after a shock Queen’s Club first-round loss against unheralded Australian Jordan Thompson.
Additional reporting by AFP
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