Andy Murray on Wimbledon’s Covid guidelines and his health

Andy Murray admits staying in a hotel during Wimbledon will be strange, but he won’t make a fuss – and he wishes more of his teammates would follow suit.

Wimbledon begins June 28, a week after all coronavirus restrictions on social contact in England were lifted. However, the All England Club has approached its planning extremely carefully, given the large number of athletes, coaches and other staff arriving from the area around the world.

Murray’s home in Oxshott, Surrey is a short drive from Wimbledon. However, he and the other players must spend the night in a hotel in the city center and follow strict rules.

The 33-year-old told the PA news agency: “Of course I would rather not stay in a hotel. It would be a shame, but if we have to do this to protect everyone, then we will. “

Murray has always said that being able to stay home with his family takes the pressure off the fortnight, but he fears that he may not get to see them much at all during the lawn season.

The Scot said, “When you have to look at the schedule and possibly get into a bubble at Queen’s. We have been told that Wimbledon ticketing will be reduced significantly for the players for the family.

“It would be very strange to play at Wimbledon without not only seeing your family and other things, but not having them there to support them in the games.

Andy Murray wears AMC from Castore (Castore Handout)

“This is the time we live in. Hopefully if we move on with the vaccinations there is a chance that vaccinated family members and friends will come in and get tickets and come for support. If not, it has to be this year. “

Even if familiar faces may not be there, Murray looks forward to playing in front of what will hopefully be a large British crowd.

Wimbledon will make a final decision on the number of spectators as close to the tournament as possible. Tickets won’t go on sale until June.

Murray said, “It would make a huge difference to me. Hopefully we can bring in some good people. We heard 30 percent, but I don’t know if that’s 30 percent of their usual capacity, but they are allowed to have Center Court and Court One full. So we’ll see.

“At first I didn’t miss it that much (crowds), I was just thrilled to be back at the start. But over the weeks it is exactly what you play for, to play in front of large crowds and play in a great atmosphere. I definitely missed that. “

Tennis’s response to the coronavirus pandemic has been the subject of much discussion, particularly in the men’s game where a number of players have grown tired and upset about living with bubbles.

Merit or not of having the vaccine was also up for debate – Novak Djokovic declined to say whether he’d accepted the offer to get vaccinated at the Serbia Open last week.

While Murray understands the complaints, he is also frustrated with the attitudes of his colleagues, particularly regarding vaccines.

“And because it’s been going on for a while, it’s a bit exhausting. And I know some of the Australian players are nine or ten months away from home because when they go home they have to spend two weeks in a hotel.

“I appreciate it all, that it’s difficult. At the same time, 60,000 people died in Brazil last month as a result of the coronavirus. If we have to do this in order to be able to continue our work and to give security to the tournaments (then so be it).

“When they opened in Miami, it was spring break. I’ve seen what’s going on in the city with tons of people from all over the country partying and the city is open and then some players start to test positive, which is difficult for the tournament too.

“These are very uncertain times for you too. Right now this is the best way to protect the tournaments and also the players and staff.

“If you want to avoid being in a bladder for too long, you have to support vaccination because you can’t just say, ‘No, we just want to live normally and we don’t want blisters, but we don’t want to be vaccinated either’ . For me it’s a piece of cake. “

Last month’s Miami Open was Murray’s first tournament after giving birth to his fourth child, but injuries occurred again, this time groin pain that occurred while he was sleeping.

It was another daunting moment for the 34-year-old who has not been able to play a series of tournaments since late 2019 when he won his last title in Antwerp.

Andy Murray has not played at Wimbledon since developing his hip problem in 2017 (Gareth Fuller / PA)

Murray’s metal hip makes it difficult to diagnose problems in this area, and he’s been slowing his recovery again. He was on the pitch last week and had to decide very soon if he wanted to try next week at the Madrid Open, for which he would need a wild card.

The Scot, who was also forced to miss the Australian Open after contracting coronavirus, said: “It was just another frustrating stop-start period. The upside is that it’s not very serious. “

Murray would likely have played sparingly on clay anyway, given the physical demands of the surface, and his priority will be to make sure he’s in the best shape he can for Wimbledon in late June.

Andy Murray Hopes To Be Back In Action Soon (Castore Handout)

The two-time champion has never lost before the third round at the All England Club and reached at least the quarter-finals every year between 2008 and his last appearance in 2017.

Murray said, “I need to practice consistently (instead of) taking these forced breaks. That was the thing in December why I think I came to such a good place because I basically practiced six days a week every week for a couple of months for two months.

“In the end my game felt really good. That’s the first thing to be able to consistently be on the practice field and then of course I have to get the games. I don’t know how many matches there are. “

:: Andy Murray wears AMC, a premium tennis apparel brand created and designed by Andy and Castore – www.castore / AMC

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