LONDON -- Here's a tip: Let's not read too much into Andy Murray's return to competitive tennis, his first match in 342 days because of a hip injury. The road back to the top for the three-time Grand Slam champion and former world No. 1 is likely to be long and perhaps problematic, but at least he's on it. Right now, that's all we know. And it is all he knows, too.
Things will become clearer when he wakes up on Wednesday morning, when he feels how his 31-year-old body reacts to the 2 hours, 39 minutes of effort he put it through against Nick Kyrgios in the first round of the Fever-Tree Championships at London's Queen's Club. It was a match Murray eventually lost 2-6, 7-6 (4), 7-5, but only after a lot of encouraging moments.
On the face of it, things look good. Murray moved better than many people expected and he battled as hard as ever. Even the old snarls toward his players' box were there, along with the fist pumps and "c'mons!" as he tried to lug his body toward an unlikely victory. The warm reception he received as he stepped onto the court at 3.51 p.m. local time surely made him feel good. Being out there, on the court again, even better.
Now it's about seeing how his hip feels. But here's the biggest thing to know. As a competitor, Murray may be desperate to play Wimbledon, even if he will be unseeded and gets Roger Federer in the first round. He's won that major twice, and he loves competing at the venue that brings him unparalleled pressure. But Murray is not going to jeopardize his recovery by taking unnecessary risks. All options are on the table.
"I won't rule anything out just now," Murray told a press conference inside Queen's Club on Tuesday evening. "I won't rule out playing Eastbourne [next week] and not playing Wimbledon. I wouldn't rule out not playing a tournament next week and trying to get matches like in an exhibition tournament, as well, to get ready for Wimbledon.
"I'm really happy that I got on the match court today and played. It was a close decision. I have not been practicing loads at all. I have been hitting for a couple of weeks, and [in] the beginning it was only like 30 minutes or so. I really haven't played a whole lot of tennis, so I'm happy I got out there and competed and performed respectably. I'll kind of need to wait and see what happens the next few days and chat with my team because I don't know exactly what's best for me just now."
Kyrgios said he had found Tuesday's bout an awkward match, something that was clear from the way he played in the first set, mixing massive serves with double faults. Often he appeared to just push the ball around. A good friend of Murray's, he said he didn't want to "get in his grill" by showing too much emotion, even though he wanted to win. At times, it was hard to judge which man was coming back for the first time in 11 months.
But playing Kyrgios, for all his ability, over three sets is a different matter altogether compared with playing Wimbledon, over the best of five sets, under the stress of a Grand Slam event, and even more so at home. He knows it, which is why he will be cautious.
"If I wake up and I really don't feel good tomorrow, then that's obviously not a great sign for best-of-five-set tennis at this stage," he said. "However, if I pull up and feel OK, then that's a good sign. At the end of the match, I was certainly tired, but it wasn't like I was completely off my feet and didn't feel like I could move anymore and stuff. But potentially, if it was a five-setter, that could have been another hour-and-a-half of tennis and that probably would have been difficult for me."
Considering Murray managed to reach the quarterfinals at Wimbledon last year, when he was limping heavily between points, it was encouraging to see him running around the court again, chasing balls down in almost customary style. But let's not get too far ahead of ourselves just yet. His movement was good, but he was still cautious when pushed out wide, the natural fear factor all players face when coming back from injuries overriding the instinct to throw himself at full pelt.
Occasionally, when Kyrgios found his range and hit behind Murray, the Scot's reactions were slower than usual. That's completely normal when you have not played for ages. As he tired in the third set, his serve suffered a letdown, too.
But those things will all come, providing the hip he had an operation on in January allows it. On the eve of Queen's, Murray said he had almost "zero expectations," but as soon as he was out there Tuesday, the intensity and adrenaline suggested otherwise. Murray has missed playing, missed competing.
"Obviously when I lose a match like that, which I feel like I was very close to winning and probably could have won that, I'm disappointed and frustrated that I wasn't able to. But then hopefully in a couple of days I'll be able to reflect on it and think, actually, considering the circumstances, it was a positive step forward in my recovery from the hip issues that I have had. It might take a couple of days."
Kyrgios said he could sense Murray was nervous, that his match sharpness was lacking. But if Murray is fit to play Wimbledon, Kyrgios said, he would still be a big threat.
Twelve months ago, Murray was ranked No. 1 and was beaten in the first round at Queen's by the then-90th-ranked Jordan Thompson of Australia. A year on, Murray is No. 156 and again is out in his opener.
But this one feels different. This time, the season is just beginning.