Andy Murray’s agonising decision over whether to attempt a singles farewell has been delayed until the day of the match itself, after he won a practice set on Monday against world No 479 Kyle Edmund.
Murray is on the schedule to play Tomas Machac, the Czech No 1, in Tuesday’s third and final match on Centre Court. On Monday night, though, his management team indicated that he was still weighing up his options.
As first reported by Telegraph Sport, Murray underwent surgery on a spinal cyst last weekend. He said on Thursday that his initial medical consultations had recommended a layoff of six to 12 weeks, yet he is seriously considering playing best-of-five-set tennis only 10 days after the operation.
“He is obviously hampered with his movement,” said Pam Shriver, the coach and TV analyst who was watching Monday’s practice session from courtside. “But he was better than I expected. If he plays he will need to have his serve help him with free points.”
Murray grizzled away in typical style during his hit with Edmund, the former Australian Open semi-finalist whose career was derailed by serious knee trouble, and who now returns to Wimbledon via a wild-card entry into the doubles tournament.
Every time Murray missed a backhand, which was fairly often, he yelled at himself. He found it hard to move into the corners, and even harder to move back out of them once he got there. But he served and returned respectably, which ought to get him into the points at least.
While the singles event remains in the balance, it seems likely that Murray will play the doubles, as he and his brother Jamie are another pair who have been granted a wild card. His movement will be much less exposed when he only has to cover half the court, and men’s doubles is now played over the best of three sets.
Singles would a stretch, especially as he has admitted that he has yet to regain full feeling in his right leg. Here lies the root of his hampered movement: only one leg is pushing off with full power. Remarkably, though, he was still striking his forehand confidently, and had established a 6-3, 2-0 lead over Edmund when they shook hands to signal the end of the rehearsal.
On his way off the court, Murray told reporters that he would consult his team and his family before making a decision. Asked how the session had gone, he replied “Okay. You tell me. You’re the experts.”
This was the second successive day on which Murray has played a set at the All England Club. His decision now will revolve around his assessment of his own quality. “I don’t want to go on the court and it be awkward or not be able to be competitive,” he explained on Sunday.
Trying to second-guess Murray has always been a fool’s errand, but one tennis insider told Telegraph Sport on Monday that “I think he might start the singles just to have one last match on Centre. Yes, he could get that from playing the doubles, but it’s not the same thing for a champion to share the court with so many. It all depends whether he feels that he will get battered by Machac or can be respectable.”
Machac, who is the world No38, has played only one warm-up match on grass since the French Open, which he lost in straight sets to Arthur Fils. He is a hugely talented shotmaker but has little experience on grass, where his main pedigree consists of coming through last year’s Wimbledon qualifying event.
“Andy is a great fighter so I think if he steps on the court he will be 100 per cent ready to play a whole match,” said Machac. “You need to win three sets so if he is not ready he will not play. But if he is standing on the court he will go for the win.”
Wimbledon to hold talks with Murray over statue
Wimbledon will hold talks with Murray as organisers plot a statue and other All England Club tributes to mark his looming retirement.
The club has honoured other British winners over the decades, and chief executive Sally Bolton says “we want to get the celebration right” for Murray.
There is a full-length statue of Fred Perry as well as a bronze bust of Virginia Wade on the grounds. Dorothy Round, Angela Mortimer, Ann Jones and Kitty Godfree, who won the first of her two Wimbledon titles 100 years ago, are also recognised.
Bolton suggests plans remain flexible, not least because Murray is still focused on playing. When asked whether a space was being saved next to Perry’s statue outside Centre Court, Bolton said: “You could argue that’s a bit of an obvious location.”
She added: “I think as we reflect on the shape of these grounds, and we think about potential development over the road. The All England Club’s is pressing ahead with proposals to build 39 new tennis courts, including an 8,000-seater show court, on an adjoining former golf course it has acquired.
“We’ve got time to think about where any kind of physical celebration of Andy’s career might be,” Bolton added. “And, in any event, we would want to work with Andy on that. He really, understandably, is not ready to have those conversations just yet. So we will make sure we get this right, because this is for all time. You think about Fred Perry. That will be for an all time statue. And so we want to make sure it’s right. We can take our time to do that.”
Bolton said “we have got a variety of plans sitting waiting to deliver” when Murray does finally announce he is quitting. “We’ll be ready whenever that happens,” she added.