Andy Murray will make his comeback during the Grass Court season of 2018. Although there are roughly two months until his return to the tennis court will happen, the struggle may not be over just yet. Undergoing an arthroscopic hip injury earlier this year in January added a couple of extra months to an already significant hiatus from tennis.
A former world No. 1 in the singles contest, Andy Murray tried twice to make a comeback but on each of the occasions, he had to abandon his plans. Back in 2017, he decided to skip the 2017 US Open despite being eligible for play when the main draw surfaced.
A few months later, just as the current season was getting started, he made a last-minute decision to withdraw from Brisbane.
The grass court season and a chance to preserve a decent ranking
The other days, the news that Andy Murray will be ready just in time for the grass season came out. It was a rather surprising development as it seems that he will go for a full schedule right from the beginning. His place in the draw at Queen's was already a solved mystery but his latest decision to add up another event to his schedule may be a surprise.
The official comeback will take place in the Netherlands, at the ATP 250 event in 's-Hertogenbosch (11-17 June).
But playing at Libema Open may not represent the last piece of the puzzle as at this point he hasn't ruled out the possibility of entering a couple of Challenger events (Glasgow and Surbiton).
Kei Nishikori is another big name who opted for a slow-paced start by deciding to play several similar events before the Sunshine Double.
Currently ranked 29th in the world, Andy Murray is no longer the Brit's No. 1, a position Kyle Edmund now holds. But, more events increase the chance of gathering extra ranking points.
Expectations should be at a low level, at least for the first events
Coming back into the competitive field after almost a year away won't be easy at all. Just look how hard others are struggling with their comebacks. Novak Djokovic, Stan Wawrinka, Kei Nishikori, or even Milos Raonic are all part of a pack that used to be in the upper tier of men's tennis.
Once they lost that mojo due to injuries and lack of matches, they got stuck in an uncertain territory.
Surely, the pressure will start to mount on Andy Murray's shoulders the moment he steps onto the tennis court for his first official match, but it would seem unfair to have great expectations from the first moment on.
After all, he had to go through hell and he hardly survived, as it's widely known how dangerous a hip injury is for a professional athlete.
