“It’s difficult to change your perspective” – Andy Murray on returning Osaka, Wozniacki, Nadal

Andy Murray knows what it’s like to try to get back to the top of tennis after a lengthy spell out of the game – and he shared some of his thoughts after his exit from the Australian Open.

Asked for his advice to the women returning from maternity leave, such as Naomi Osaka and Angelique Kerber plus Caroline Wozniacki coming out of retirement, and Rafael Nadal’s efforts at a comeback after spending most of 2023 on the sidelines, the former world No 1 had this to say.

“I would say it’s extremely hard. But everyone’s situation is different. I had back surgery earlier in my career. The severity of that surgery in comparison to what I had a few years ago [with the hip resurfacing] is completely different. Some players are coming back maybe after becoming parents, it’s completely different to someone who has, I don’t know, had an injured ankle or something. They’re not all the same things.

“It is really hard. I’d say it’s not usual for players to come back from eight, nine months away from the game, a year away from the game, and start feeling amazing immediately. It does take time.

“For me this time, yeah, well, it’s never really come back so it’s difficult when you played at the top of the game, I think, to change your perspective on how you should be performing and how you should be doing. I would have the highest expectations, and a lot of the players coming back, like Osakas, and Wozniackis, Kerbers, Rafa, all of them have played right at the top of the game. It’s difficult if you come back and you’re not at that same level. It’s hard.”

Murray: I won’t win many matches playing that way

Murray lost in straight sets to Tomas Martin Etcheverry, and admitted that his recent results and performances do not buoy him with confidence that he can recover some of his best form.

“I won’t win many matches playing that way. Practice is not the same thing. I’m totally aware of that.

“I also know, like, what good tennis is. I’ve, yeah, played well before. I know in the last week, 10 days, how well I was playing against the best players in the world. That’s why it’s so frustrating that on the match court, yeah, it’s not there.

“I mean, I’ve been telling myself that at some stage it will. But obviously when you have performances like today, or a batch of results over a period of time like I have done, it’s tough to keep believing in that.”

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