It’s been a tumultuous five years for Andy Murray: countless injuries, a new metal hip, four children and a bout of Covid. Can the former world No 1 really battle his way back to brilliance at Wimbledon?
Is he or isn’t he? One minute Andy Murray, one of Britain’s greatest living athletes, tells me he’ll be back on the court at Wimbledon this month, playing well in the tournament that made his name. And the next, he doesn’t sound so sure. “The test is being on court with the best players,” he says in a break in training, “and that’s something that, right this second, is difficult to give a definitive answer to.”
The joy of sport is its unpredictability, but Murray’s not talking about that. His body has been through such immense stress and strain – throughout his career, but especially over the past few years – that he can’t rely on it. He genuinely doesn’t know what it can do.
People say he can’t stay fit, he can’t do this. They seem desperate for you to retire and stop doing what you love doing
Difficult conversations are still something I struggle with. You end up saying nothing, then your frustration builds