Murray admits: I might never make it back to the top of tennis

Andy Murray appears to be happy in his own skin as the former No. 1 heads into the summer hardcourt season with a return to the Washington ATP event.

The three-time Grand Slam champion whose career suffered a major setback with two hip injury surgeries among other procedures,  said before the tournament in the American capital that he is not trying to rewrite his history.

The Scot ranked 33th is back at the pre-US Open tournament for the first time since 2018 before his hip troubles began.

He lost the 2006 final here back near the start of his career.

Murray admits that he is working with his remaining physical resources.

 “I have found it difficult that my expectations are one thing, but from a physical perspective it is really difficult.

“I’ve played at the top for a long time and I want to get there, but I also try to be kind to myself,” he told local media.

“From my experience, there is no reason why you can’t return to playing at the highest level after the operation.”

The 36-year-old added: “Your body is different after the operation, but by rehabbing properly, training hard and being strong, you can get back to the highest level.

“It took me a long time until I felt good again, I had problems in different parts of my body from the changes. Now I feel really good.”

Murray begins his American summer against the winner from Aleksandar Vukic and Brandon Nakashima. His last ATP-level trophy came in 2019 though he won three lower-level Challenger titles in May and June this season.