Andy Murray withdraws from Brisbane, considers hip surgery

Otacon

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  • andymurrayHey everyone.. Just wanted to write a little message on here for anyone interested in what in going through right now.

    Firstly I want to apologise to @brisbanetennis for withdrawing at late notice and to everyone who wanted to come along to watch me play(or lose) The organisers couldn't have been more understanding and supportive and I'll always remember that. Thank you.

    I've obviously been going through a really difficult period with my hip for a long time and have sought council from a number of hip specialists. Having been recommended to treat my hip conservatively since the US Open I have done everything asked of me from a rehab perspective and worked extremely hard to try get back on the court competing. Having played practice sets here in Brisbane with some top players unfortunately this hasn't worked yet to get me to the level I would like so I have to reassess my options. Obviously continuing rehab is one option and giving my hip more time to recover. Surgery is also an option but the chances of a successful outcome are not as I high as I would like which has made this my secondary option and my hope has been to avoid that. However this is something I may have to consider but let's hope not.

    I choose this pic as the little kid inside me just wants to play tennis and Compete.. I genuinely miss it so much and i would give anything to be back out there. I didn't realise until these last few months just how much I love this game. Everytime I wake up from sleeping or napping i hope that it's better and it's quite demoralising when you get on the court it's not at the level you need it to be to compete at this level.

    In the short term I'm going to be staying in Australia for the next couple of days to see if my hip settles down a bit and will decide by the weekend whether to stay out here or fly home to assess what I do next.

    Sorry for the long post but I wanted to keep everyone in the loop and get this off my chest as it's really hurting inside.

    Hope to see you back on the court soon ❤️
 
Sadly, I think this is it for him now. He’s 30, the operation seems not to have high probability of solving the problem and he’s worth millions. I think he may retire soon.
 
True Fanerer said:
It's a hard pill for him to swallow. He's clearly devastated at the moment. I admire his honesty here. Its not easy to admit those things the way he did.
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He didn't look happy in those pictures in Brisbane. I think he kind of knew he wouldn't be playing and it was sort of a waste to even come to Australia.
 
Sabratha said:
He didn't look happy in those pictures in Brisbane. I think he kind of knew he wouldn't be playing and it was sort of a waste to even come to Australia.
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Yeah it's killing him. There's only two types of surgery he can have I read. One puts him out six months without a guarantee he returns to his best. The other fixes the problem totally as far as everyday life, but ends his career.
 
by hip surgery are they looking at a replacement? if not I wonder why the success rate is not good. I haven't kept up with this so I am unsure of the exact injury. I hate it for him. Tennis is better with him in the mix
 
True Fanerer said:
Yeah it's killing him. There's only two types of surgery he can have I read. One puts him out six months without a guarantee he returns to his best. The other fixes the problem totally as far as everyday life, but ends his career.
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He is better off going for option one and trying to make a return. It will kill him inside if he takes option two because tennis IS his life. And I still have hope he can make it back to at least top 20 level.
 
I’m sure he’s heard all the horror stories by former players of going under the knife and how the chances of returning and playing at a high level is unlikely. This is why he’s been putting it off. Tennis Channel commentators talked about this last night and the odds are stacked against Murray if he undergoes the surgery. He’s in a tough spot.
 
Sabratha said:
He is better off going for option one and trying to make a return. It will kill him inside if he takes option two because tennis IS his life. And I still have hope he can make it back to at least top 20 level.
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I don't think he'll come back to the top 20 if he loses as much as 5% of hip strength/mobility.
 
jmc3367 said:
by hip surgery are they looking at a replacement? if not I wonder why the success rate is not good. I haven't kept up with this so I am unsure of the exact injury. I hate it for him. Tennis is better with him in the mix
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No one could come back from a total replacement. He hasn't said what exactly the problem is but it is probably this, which is what I had two surgeries for:

Femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) is a condition in which extra bone grows along one or both of the bones that form the hip joint — giving the bones an irregular shape. Because they do not fit together perfectly, the bones rub against each other during movement. Over time this friction can damage the joint, causing pain and limiting activity.
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Techniques for this surgery are always improving and recovery can allow for a high level of play, but as someone else noted a 5% loss in mobility is too much at the top of tennis.

It's his only option now though, it will not get better with rest/rehab.
 
Rafa's message to Andy on the latter's Instagram account:
26165436_1576288115769741_4025698739395556083_n.jpg
 
clayqueen said:
Yes, but it doesn't affect which of the top 4 can face each other in the SF or which 2 players are drawn to meet in the Final which his late withdrawal from the USO affected.
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True. But for example right now #17 is John Isner - and nobody wants to face him too early. More realistically, with Djokovic/Nadal/Wawrinka all in doubt, Isner will be seeded higher, but Kyrgios is #21 so it could effect him.

Murray waiting until last minute in the USO was inexcusable imo. there was no way he was going to play, and it really messed up the draw.
 
SpinToWin said:
I don't think he'll come back to the top 20 if he loses as much as 5% of hip strength/mobility.
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I think he will come back to a decent level but he just won't be able to sustain it anymore or go beyond a certain rank (top 20, etc).

Murray is very gifted. He will make do with what he has and it will be enough for him to remain competitive on a slightly lower scale.
 
NatF said:
If he's been resting it for near on 6 months and it's not worked then surgery is probably the only option.

Gutted for all the good Murray fans out there and @Mainad

I kid I kid
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I've almost given up hope. There's no way he will be fit enough for the AO (what's going to change in 2 weeks?) and it's anybody's guess when he will be fit enough to rejoin the tour (if ever). Surgery may well cure the hip pain but it will almost certainly leave him half the player he has been. There just seems to be no easy way for him now that's going to get him back to top level anytime soon!

Can't tell you how gutted I feel right now but I'm sure you can guess!!! :(:(:(
 
norcal said:
No one could come back from a total replacement. He hasn't said what exactly the problem is but it is probably this, which is what I had two surgeries for:



Techniques for this surgery are always improving and recovery can allow for a high level of play, but as someone else noted a 5% loss in mobility is too much at the top of tennis.

It's his only option now though, it will not get better with rest/rehab.
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No one in the past could get back to CONSISTENT top level play after massive hip surgery. Best example is Guga.
 
EloQuent said:
What about doubles?
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I don't think that's something that will interest Murray although he is a decent doubles player. I have heard about people saying Federer would switch from singles to doubles and play until he's 60 or something but I just don't see it.

Doubles players usually always were doubles players. There are a few exceptions but not really.
 
tennisaddict said:
I am really feeling sorry for Murray. He had a great career winning 3 majors, 2 OG, 1 WTF and YE No 1. I think that was his ceiling anyway. He should be proud !!
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I think he could have squeezed in another Slam or 2 before he was done but clearly that's not going to happen now. I just can't believe we're already talking about him in the past tense when just 12 months ago he was on top of the tennis world!!! :eek::(
 
Sabratha said:
I don't think that's something that will interest Murray although he is a decent doubles player. I have heard about people saying Federer would switch from singles to doubles and play until he's 60 or something but I just don't see it.

Doubles players usually always were doubles players. There are a few exceptions but not really.
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Federer was never much of a doubles player. I see him playing singles until he no longer enjoys it, then coaching/commenting.

Andy could play with Jamie doubles, he really loves the game and doesn't want to go.
 
EloQuent said:
Federer was never much of a doubles player. I see him playing singles until he no longer enjoys it, then coaching/commenting.

Andy could play with Jamie doubles, he really loves the game and doesn't want to go.
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But what use would he be to Jamie with a damaged hip? Even doubles players (and maybe especially doubles players) need to be able to move and change direction quickly!
 
Mainad said:
I think he could have squeezed in another Slam or 2 before he was done but clearly that's not going to happen now. I just can't believe we're already talking about him in the past tense when just 12 months ago he was on top of the tennis world!!! :eek::(
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I am not too sure. I don't see the 2016 Murray beating the 2017 Fedal.

His place in history is not changing significantly either ways. His fans should be happy.
 
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