Andy Murray underwent an operation on his hip on Monday to try to recover from an injury that has been hindering him for about six months. Murray, who hasn't played a match since Wimbledon will miss the Australian Open, a tournament he's never won, but he isn't done with tennis by a long-shot. He said that he wants to play tennis for the time-being -- at least until 23-month-old daughter Sophia is old enough to understand his life.
Via The Daily Mail, Murray said that:
I have spoken to my wife a bit about it. One of the things that I would like to do is play until my eldest daughter is able to watch me and have a small understanding of what it is I've done for my living.
That's one of the things that's motivated me to keep playing. That would be cool if she can come along and watch me hit some balls or practice just to see what it is I do.
I like seeing a lot of the other (players') kids when they are on tour with their parents, who get to do a bit of travelling with them when they're at an age when they actually understand a bit more about what it is that they're doing.
Now I've had surgery and stuff, that's something I'm looking forward to in the future.
Murray would like to be back by Wimbledon, which would give him about a six month timetable. It's undoubtedly ambitious, but the former ATP World No. 1 thinks it's achievable -- though he won't rush anything.
"My plan is to be back playing around the grasscourt season – potentially before then, but I'm certainly not going to rush anything," he said, per The Daily Mail. "I've been quoted times for how long it's taken for players to get back from the surgery I've had, and I've been given up to 14 weeks.
"I'm not going to put a date on it. I want to come back when I'm fit and ready to play, not to get into a situation like in Brisbane or New York, where I'm unsure when I turn up at a tournament how fit I am. I want to know when I come back that I'm ready."
Murray recently withdrew from the Brisbane International after his hip flared up, which ultimately is part of the reason he got the surgery. In spite of his clear frustration with the process, Murray finally seems content to take it slow.
"I'm very optimistic because, having spoken to the surgeon, he was very happy about how it went," he said.
"He felt that my hip will be feeling better than it did a year ago and, obviously, I was still doing fine a year ago, I was ranked No 1 in the world. Moving forward I'll certainly be playing a reduced schedule, and then focusing more on trying to win major events and big tournaments rather than trying to achieve certain ranking goals."
