Tennis: is there going to be a great comeback in this season?

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This could be the third consecutive year in which an elite player makes a comeback in the ATP; apparently only one will achieve it

First, it was Rafael Nadal, then Roger Federer and more recently Novak Djokovic. These three players went through hard injuries in their careers. But in all three cases, they returned to be on top of the ATP ranking. This 2019 represented a similar opportunity for two elite tennis players, perhaps not as dominant as those already mentioned, but really important in this sport: the British Andy Murray, who was also number 1 in the world, and the Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka. But after Murray's announcement to retire, Wawrinka seems like the only one to achieve it.

Leer en español: Tenis: ¿va a haber un gran regreso en esta temporada?

Is Murray retiring?

It was shocking! The British tennis player Andy Murray broke down in tears at the press conference prior to the Australian Open trying to explain the suffering he went through last year after being submitted to his hip operation in early 2018. In conclusion, he announced his retirement from tennis this year, in which he hopes to at least be able to play Wimbledon if the pain allows him, said El Tiempo.  

Anyway, Murray will debut in Melbourne against Spanish Roberto Bautista, in a tournament which he has been a finalist five times. The British, winner of the Gold Medal in Rio 2016 and three Grand Slams made the decision in search of a better quality of life, as a new operation would not allow him to compete at the highest level.

His words were: "I have been suffering for a long time, a total of twenty months, I have tried to do everything possible but the pain has not stopped, I do not want to continue playing in this way, I am not willing to continue with this pain in the next five months," replied the same media.

The specialized tennis portal, Punto de Break, referred to the Scottish optimism, before Murray’s announcement. They emphasize that the athlete, despite the adversity, always maintained an irreproachable behavior. Murray went from being number 1 in 2016 to be out of the best in the world ranking.

As for Wawrinka, they say that he was always optimistic, which is taken by many as a condition for success. The Swiss looked very bad last year, especially slowly, perhaps for fear of worsening his knee problem. The Spanish García López defeated him in the first round. For Wawrinka, his preseason will be fundamental, which has shown improvements in this month of January, like says Punto de Break. Unlike Murray, his participation in Australia was assured by occupying the 68th position of the ATP ranking.

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Specialist's opinions

There are conflicting versions regarding the chances of Murray and Wawrinka returning at their best. For example, the former No. 2 in the world, the German Tommy Haas, trusted Murray, so the Scottish decision must have surprised him.

At the end of 2018, Haas declared for Tennis World USA "It seems that Murray is doing the courtyards to prepare for the Australian Open, I would not be surprised if next summer he played his best tennis again" after Murray returned to the courts in June 2018 at the Queen's Club. The German added: "Tennis is obviously one thing you need to gain confidence in by winning games."

In turn, the former Canadian tennis player Greg Rusedski commented on Wawrinka for a new article on Punto de Break. "You look at a player like Stan Wawrinka who comes back after knee surgery this year and has had some great victories, but the consistency has not been there and that's because he cannot play at the level he wants week after week."

"I think Stan feels he can do it, he's very motivated and still feels that he can produce good tennis, which is physically reaching his peak, he's very motivated for next year, he's already talking about offseason and preseason. It has been well prepared for 2019, he said in statements compiled by Punto de Break.

LatinAmerican Post | Onofre Zambrano

Translated from: '¿Podrá haber un gran regreso? ¡Andy Murray anunció su retiro!'