MURR TO COME
Andy Murray’s Wimbledon swansong dream back on as Brit tennis legend learns full extent of horror injury
Read how another British star's Olympic hopes are looking
ANDY MURRAY will not need surgery on his left ankle as he steps up his tennis return.
Last month, the Scotsman severely damaged two ankle ligaments in his exit from the third round of the Miami Open.
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Muzza, 36, ruptured his ATFL (anterior talofibular ligament) and CFL (calcaneofibular ligament) in the closing games of his defeat in Florida to Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic.
The good news from his camp is that he does NOT need an operation, which would have likely ruled him out of the Wimbledon Championships in July.
It is understood his rehab is going well and he hopes to start hitting again on court soon.
There is no official date yet for a return to competition but the French Open, which starts on May 26, might come too soon.
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The former world No1 wants to appear at a 16th and final Wimbledon this summer.
The three-time Grand Slam champion plans to hang up his racquet at the end of the summer but no official end-date has been pinpointed.
He will hope he will have a ranking sufficiently high enough come June to secure himself a spot for Team GB at Paris Olympics – his fourth Olympic Games.
Meanwhile, Emma Raducanu has “stress-tested” her body on clay as she looks to squeeze into the Paris Olympics.
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The former US Open champion won two tough three-set matches back-to-back on the red stuff as Britain knocked out France to reach the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in November.
The second singles tie – the match which sealed Britain’s progression – was almost three hours but she came through that without any fitness issues.
Andy Murray injures his ankle in Miami Open defeat
On Tuesday she will take on Germany’s three-time Slam winner Angelique Kerber on the same surface in the first round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart.
Parisian clay will host the French Open and Olympics this summer at Roland Garros and Raducanu is showing she can adapt wonderfully to the demands of the dirt.
At the Olympics, there are only two quota spots available for previous tennis major champions who have a low ranking and she faces a fight to be part of Team GB’s plans.
Raducanu, 21, said: “It was a monumental effort from the entire team last weekend. There’s so much to be proud of.
“I have worked hard. It was a nice little reward. It was a nice feeling to put those performances on the court. It was confidence building.
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“The big chunk of the work is done in those training weeks when you’re back home and no one sees you.
“You are not posting on social media all the training you do because that’s just your day-to-day. That’s how you are.
“It has helped. I have done two great weeks of training. I was able to test out my training in a real life situation.
“The stress tests came out really well. I’m very pleased with that. I’m looking forward and excited for the rest of the clay season.
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“I feel tired now to be honest. I played two three-set matches against really, really top-level opponents. I won’t lie, I’m tired.
“The priority now is recovery and trying to get in the best physical shape as possible.”
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