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After almost 12 months out of the game with injury, Andy Murray is back – but whether the former world No 1 is ready for Wimbledon remains to be seen.
The Scot underwent surgery in January to address a long-standing hip injury but the road to recovery has been far from easy.
From the off, Murray made it clear he was targeting a grass-court comeback but his on the French Open entry list raised hopes of an early return.
Andy Murray's difficult 2017
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However, the tournament came and went without an appearance from the 31-year-old, who later revealed that he would finally be making his return at the Libema Open in ’s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands.
That, too, proved to be a false dawn, with the Scot pulling out of the competition at the 11th hour due to lingering injury concerns.
“It is with regret that I won’t be ready to play in ’s-Hertogenbosch,” Murray said at the time. “I was excited to play there for the first time, but I am not quite ready to return. I am still aiming to play in the coming weeks, but I want to be 100 per cent when I do return.”
It was at Queen’s where Murray finally made his long-awaited return, taking to court against Australia’s Nick Kyrgios.
Despite losing 2-6 7-6 (7-4) 7-5, the Scot put in an encouraging performance – though he admitted afterwards that he was unsure whether he’d be fit in time for the Wimbledon Championships.
Attention now turns to Eastbourne and the Nature Valley International, where Murray takes on fellow veteran Stan Wawrinka in the first round of the competition.
How he fares there is likely to offer a firm indicator of whether or not the 2016 champion will be returning to the green courts of SW19.
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