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Scotland’s Andy Murray has said his practice sessions against ‘top’ players have gone well as he prepares to return to singles action. Murray will play France’s Richard Gasquet at the Cincinnati Masters on Monday as he tries to prove his fitness ahead of the US Open later this month.
Monday’s contest will be his first singles match since undergoing hip resurfacing surgery in January and the former world number one has come a long way since he considered retiring. The 32-year-old has been playing doubles since June and he now claims his work in practice has surprised him.
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He told the ATP Tour: “The performances against top singles players in practices have been good. But at some stage, you have to take the step to try and play. The quickest way to get up to speed is by being on the practice and match court with top players.
“I’m not expecting to move as well I used to, but I think I can move better than I am now. That will take some time since I only started playing singles a couple of weeks ago. “When you’re playing at the highest level against the best players, they hit the ball big and that takes some time to get used to.”
