(Reuters) – Former world number one Andy Murray has had no adverse reaction to his recent charity game against Roger Federer and assistant coach Jamie Delgado is confident he will be able to get back to his best after a hip injury brought an early end to his season.
Murray, who has been out of action since losing to Sam Querrey in the Wimbledon semi-finals, is targeting a return to competitive action early next year with a view to competing at the Australian Open.
The Scot has plummeted to 16th in the rankings — his lowest position for nine years — and began his comeback with a charity game against Federer in Glasgow last week.
“His body recovered well after that … we are confident and hopeful that he will be back to his best,” Delgado told Sky Sports.
“We are in the process now of getting ready for a few weeks … to get a pre-season block together… get some good players to practice with and pick up that level.
“The plan is to start in Brisbane in the first week of the year, … there is a week’s gap between that and the Australian Open,” the coach added.
Delgado said Murray’s spirits were lifted after meeting his fellow professionals in London and that the 30-year-old had missed being on the road while recovering.
“It was great to be back and see all the guys again and also to give him the feel of coming to a tennis event. He hasn’t been to one for a few months.
“He is missing that a lot. He will need that, practicing with those guys over the next couple of months to get him ready for next year.”
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
