Andy Murray is currently hibernating ranked at No. 16 in the world. It's the Brit's worst year-end ranking since he rose to fame more than a decade ago. The way things unfolded for him in 2017 was part of probably the worst case scenario. After ending the 2016 season at the summit, he took a dangerous dive starting with the second part of the year. A hip injury forced Murray into a premature end of the competitive year. Thus, he hasn't played an official rubber since the 2017 Wimbledon.

A failed attempt to resume playing drew him a wave of criticism after he chose to withdraw from the 2017 US Open a day after the official main draw came up to the surface.

Andy Murray is set to start from scratch

A year after he made it to the ATP summit, Andy Murray is finding himself at the bottom. The uncertainty revolves around his future trajectory within the ATP circuit. Moreover, he and his super coach Ivan Lendl decided to part ways for the second time. Lendl being present in the coaching box stood up as a synonym for success. Now, a three-time Grand Slam winner, Murray will solely rely only on Jaime Delgado's input. Delgado has to be the continuity element and the key for another successful run in 2018.

Aged 30, Andy Murray has been living in the shadow of the golden trio represented by Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic. Even so, he has gathered his own unique awards.

He remains the only one who twice won the gold medal in men's singles at the Olympics.

Next year, in January, he will hit the road in Brisbane, Australia, where he is set to make his official comeback. There will a slight change of schedule compared to 2017 when Murray started the year in Doha. He made it to the final, where Djokovic took some revenge for losing the year-end No.

1 in 2016.

The whole dynamic might change

Stepping into a new phase of his career (probably one of the last chapters) Andy Murray will most likely try to adjust the schedule. Usually, he plays more than 70 matches per year, but that level of play might not be properly anchored into reality. He needs to prioritize his calendar in order to extend his legacy.

After all, he must be considered as being a player that is in a post-peak age.

A shortened schedule might provide him with a perfect balance between his career and his family. Playing a grueling calendar will cut off from the time he could have spent in a friendly and warm environment.

In less than a month, Andy Murray will give a first sample of the direction he would like to follow.
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