Andy Murray dreaming of miraculous Wimbledon farewell days after spinal surgery as bungling tennis chiefs delete tweet
ANDY MURRAY is plotting a miracle Wimbledon comeback after undergoing spinal surgery yesterday.
The tennis legend, 37, is hoping to be fit for the Championships, which start on Monday July 1, despite having a cyst removed from his spine on Saturday.
It had been reported earlier that he was going to pull out of the tournament – which he has won twice – as recovery time for the average person after such a procedure is four to six weeks.
The social media account for the ATP Tour – the governing body of men’s tennis – dropped a massive clanger by claiming the Scotsman was “sadly out” of the SW19 event.
That message was soon deleted upon request by Murray’s camp, who were furious that details of his op had been leaked to the public.
And SunSport understands that he is hopeful to be hitting balls later this week in preparation for a 16th and final Wimbledon appearance.
Murray is weighing up his options and praying that his body responds well to the op, which was deemed a success by medics.
The plan would be to play in singles combat and as it stands, Murray remains in the main draw, which will take place at the All England Club at 10am on Friday morning.
Going under the knife was a forced manoeuvre after he lost coordination and power in his right leg as he quit his last-16 clash with Australian Jordan Thompson at Queen’s after just five completed games of the first set.
Notification of his situation will be made public on Monday by his team and he would only consider dropping out if his body struggles in the coming days with the rehab and recovery.
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Leon Smith, the British Davis Cup captain and a childhood coach, said: “I’ve seen the reports and on social media and that’s not my understanding.
“This has come from one source and had a knock-on effect, a lot of people are reporting it.
Wimbledon 2024 prize money
PRIZE MONEY for the 2024 Wimbledon Championships is a new record – and puts the grass-court Slam at the top of the tree.
The All England Club will dish out £50million across all the events – an increase of £5.3m and 11.9 per cent on last year, where singles champions Carlos Alcaraz and Marketa Vondrousova picked up £2.35m each.
However, the king and queen of grass this July will collect an extra £350,000 – taking the winner’s earnings to £2.7m.
Here is the breakdown for the 2024 Wimbledon singles prize money:
- Winner: £2.7m
- Runner-up: £1.4m
- Semi-finalists: £715,000
- Quarter-finalists: £375,000
- Fourth round: £226,000
- Third round: £143,000
- Second round: £93,000
- First round: £60,000
- Overall total: £50m
“But that’s not my understanding.
“He obviously went through a procedure yesterday and you have to wait and see now.
“My understanding is no decision has been made and let’s hope for the best for Andy.”