Andy Murray will launch his comeback on the grass of Queen's Club—playing doubles.
The former world No. 1 will return to the court for the first time since January partnering 2017 Queen's Club champion Feliciano Lopez in doubles later this month. Mutua Madrid Open tournament director Lopez partnered Marc Lopez to the 2016 Roland Garros doubles title.
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The Fever-Tree Championships, an LTA summer grass court event, is set for June 17th-23rd.
The 32-year-old Murray, winner of a record five singles titles at The Queen’s Club, underwent hip resurfacing surgery following his Australian Open exit and has been building his fitness since then.
“I am really excited to return to the match court for the first time since my surgery,” said Murray. “Queen’s has always been a special place for me and it’s the perfect place to return. It’s where I won my first ATP match, my first title in Britain and on grass, and it’s been my most successful tournament overall.
"I’m not yet ready to return to the singles court, but I’ve been pain-free for a few months now. I’ve made good progress in training and on the practice court, and this is the next step for me as I try to return to the tour.”
Continuing his recovery from surgery to install a metal implant in his right hip, Murray has essentially ruled out a Wimbledon singles return, but says he could potentially play doubles at The Championships.
In an interview with The Times' Stuart Fraser, the 32-year-old Murray said he hasn’t had enough time to fully rehab from his second hip surgery on January 29th, which makes a Wimbledon singles return highly unlikely.
“It's not enough time," Murray told The Times. "I'd say there's very little chance I'd play singles during the grass (season). "Potentially doubles, but I'm not trying to get ready for singles. I've only just started moving now."
Murray hit at Wimbledon with buddy Nick Kyrgios last month leading to speculation they could partner in Wimbledon doubles.
Andy Murray partnered brother Jamie Murray in doubles leading Great Britain to the 2015 Davis Cup, but Jamie Murray said he has no plans to partner his brother at the grass-court Grand Slam in June.
The former world No. 1 made a valiant and emotional farewell falling to Roberto Bautista Agut in a gripping five-set thriller in the Australian Open first round on January 14th.
Afterward, Murray admitted he's in pain and said then he hoped to play Wimbledon as his farewell tournament.
Now, the three-time Grand Slam champion suggests he could extend his competitive career.
Given the fact he’s been pain-free since surgery and Bob Bryan, who underwent the same procedure last year and is back playing doubles with success, Murray said he’s confident he’ll be able to play doubles and hopes he can give singles a shot at some point, too.
“I know from seeing what Bob Bryan has done that for doubles it will be absolutely fine,” Murray told The Times. “I'll need to see from there how it would work singles-wise.
"If I continue to feel good then I will obviously give it a shot in singles and see what happens. In doubles I'm pretty certain I'll be able to play, just based on having an example to look at.
"The thing I said before was that, if I wasn't feeling good, there was more chance that I would play and then stop after Wimbledon. Whereas if it's feeling good, it makes a bit more sense to give it time to make sure that it's as good as possible before I try to play singles on it."
Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve