Andy Murray: Winning more Grand Slam titles 'still possible'

Andy Murray believes he can still add to his tally of three Grand Slam titles and says he has no long-term concerns over his hip injury.

The former world number one launches his comeback at Queen's Club next week where he has "no expectations at all".

However, one thing the double Wimbledon champion is clear about is his ability to lift more major tennis honours.

"I think it's still possible, but I'm not expecting that to be the case in the next two weeks," said Murray.

"I don't think you miss a year of playing and then come back and start winning Grand Slams. That isn't how this works. It's maybe different if you've had four months of hard training and preparation to get ready for that. But with the situation I'm in, that hasn't been the case.

"It's been stop-start quite a lot of the time through the whole process. Obviously, I didn't have surgery at the beginning, had surgery half way through. I had the groin operation as well.

"So, the expectations for me are very, very low right now and I'll reassess what my goals are when I'm back out there competing and feeling good again."

'Frustrating and boring'

Murray, 31, has been given positive news about his surgery and is confident that long-term he will make a full recovery.

He says the concern is that short-term he does not know how body will react to getting back to playing matches.

Andy Murray practices at Queen's

One thing's for sure, nearly 12 months after limping out of last year's championships at the All England Club, Murray is itching to get back out onto a court again.

"It's good to be back," Murray told BBC Scotland. "Through this last period there have been times when I've been on court practising and not quite managed to get to the start line. So obviously getting there now is great and I'm looking forward to getting back out there.

"It's been a really frustrating period and it's been a boring period for me. There's been so much rehab that I've done in the last nine months or so. A lot of the days have looked quite similar. That's not much fun, I obviously want to be out competing.

"As a tennis player, it's been by far my most difficult time. I've never had any issues quite like this before. I had the back surgery (in 2013) but after that I was competing after three-and-a-half months or so."

'Very few players are pain-free'

The question on many lips is, after 11 months away from competitive tennis, how is that troublesome hip?

"I'm not going to get an exact measurement of how it's feeling until I actually get out competing on the match court," the two-time Wimbledon champion explained. "I've been playing sets for the last week to 10 days, practising with Kyle Edmund, Cameron Norrie and a couple of the other top 50 players that are playing here and I've been competing well.

"I'm not obviously playing my best or feeling my best. That's normal after 11 months, but I'm hoping by being around this level and being exposed to it and playing matches - you know, I'm playing Nick Kyrgios here in the first round, that's a huge step up obviously from what I've been doing - hopefully I'll respond well to that."

So we can expect Murray to eagerly to set foot on the green grass of Queen's. But don't expect him to be pain-free. That, he says, is something few players, if any, are granted, especially in the latter stages of a sporting career.

"I don't know how many athletes are pain-free at this stage of their career," he admitted. "I'm sure if you ask Roger [Federer] or Rafa [Nadal], you know Roger had a bunch of problems with his back a few years ago and obviously the knee. Rafa has had many issues with his knee. There's never a time when you feel perfect, it's about feeling comfortable enough where you're able to compete and you're not restricted on the court and that's what I'm hoping to find this week.

"It's not a gamble in terms of me going on the court that I'm going to re-injure my hip or hurt myself by playing. You never know exactly when you're ready. Especially after this amount of time.

Andy Murray faces Nick Kyrgios in the first round of Queen's Club

"I'm sure if I missed the grass court season and tried to play in five or six weeks the same doubts would still be there. Of course you're going to doubt how you're going to feel and the best way to get over that is to get out there and compete and see where you're at.

"And if it goes really well, that's fantastic. And if it doesn't then you re-evaluate and you see the things that you need to improve upon. Whether that's playing more matches or spending more time in the gym to get quicker and stronger.

"I didn't want to get back on the match court until I felt like I was able to compete."

'No expectations at all' for Queen's

Murray makes his comeback against Kyrgios, who came within a couple of points of defeating Roger Federer in the Stuttgart Open on Saturday.

"Nick had a good run this week; lost to Federer in the semis, 7-6 in the third," said Murray. "He's a brilliant player on all surfaces, but I think on grass he's a bit more dangerous just because of the way he plays and his serve.

"He has a flat backhand which works well on these courts . When he's mentally switched on he's one of the best players in the world, there's no doubt about that."

No man in the history of this famous old Queen's Club tournament has ever won the title as many times as Murray. But talk about the possibility of extending the record to a sixth victory is dismissed quicker than one of his first serves.

"I have no expectations at all," he said. "For me it's not about that this week. Obviously, I'd love to win the tournament, but I'm not thinking about that. I'm more concerned about how I feel on the court.

"Hopefully I perform well and I want to learn exactly where I'm at from this week rather than putting lots of pressure on myself to win."