Andy Murray: Playing doubles at Wimbledon is a possibility

Andy Murray. Picture: John Walton/PA Wire

That would raise the intriguing prospect of him possibly teaming up with older brother Jamie, a two-time grand slam champion in men’s doubles.

Andy Murray was speaking at Queen’s Club yesterday, five weeks after undergoing a hip resurfacing operation. He has been battling a hip problem since the summer of 2017 and will attempt to break new ground by returning to top-level singles action with a metal hip.

In an interview with the BBC, the Scot said: “To play singles at Wimbledon I’d say it would be less than 50 per cent chance, doubles maybe possibly.”

Speaking to ITV, he added: “In terms of singles, it’s unlikely but… not completely unreasonable that I could go out and play doubles. Whether I want to do that, I’m not sure.”

Murray also revealed that the operation had been performed by consultant orthopaedic surgeon Sarah Muirhead-Allwood and took twice as long as expected because of the strength of the Scot’s femur. Murray is the first current top-level athlete Dr Muirhead-Allwood has performed the operation on, with the Scot deciding against using Dr Edwin Su, who came highly recommended by Bob Bryan.

Doubles specialist Bryan returned to the sport having undergone the same surgery. Dr Su believed he could help Murray return to the top.

But it was Dr Muirhead-Allwood’s refusal to offer such projections that helped Murray make his decision. He said: “I’ve spoken to a lot of people, different specialists and surgeons. They told me things were going to turn out better than what they had.

“I felt speaking to her, she told me the truth. I didn’t want to be told, ‘You’re going to come back and win Wimbledon in five months, and it’s going to be perfect’. Because I know that it’s not the case, and that nobody in their right mind could promise me that.”