Former world No. 1 Andy Murray made a surprise appearance at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship on Thursday, where he hit the practice courts in preparation for his long-awaited return to the tour.
Murray hasn’t played a match since his Wimbledon quarter-final exit at the hands of Sam Querrey. The three-time Grand Slam champion has been out of action nursing a hip injury and fans flocked to the stands by the practice court at Zayed Sports City to see how well the Brit is moving.
The 30-year-old is scheduled to compete at the Brisbane International, which begins on Sunday.
During a practice session that lasted nearly an hour and a half, Murray hit serves, forehands, backhands, ran down drop shots, and worked on his passing shots — among other things — joined on court by his coach Jamie Delgado, his fitness trainer Matt Little and another member of his team.
Murray is likely to stay here in Abu Dhabi for two more days where he’ll get the opportunity to practice with the likes of Novak Djokovic and Dominic Thiem.
The world No. 16 did not appear to be practicing at full power — although he did up the intensity during various points in the session — and bent over multiple times while resting between shots.
It’s unclear whether that is an exercise he needs to do for his hip during practice or if he was in pain.
Nice bonus for #mwtc10 crowd. @andy_murray is practicing here in Abu Dhabi pic.twitter.com/L3le2Im56S
— Reem Abulleil (@ReemAbulleil) December 28, 2017
