Four years ago, this very same week, Murray was being written off by many as done for, by myself included, after he lost his first round match of the Australian Open to Roberto Bautista Agut, the Spaniard winning after a four-hour, five-set epic. Then aged 31, Murray had already required one hip operation, in early 2018, such was the unbearable pain resulting from the at times violently athletic movements and wear and tear on the tennis court.
Once the hip of any elite athlete goes under the surgeon’s knife it’s rarely the same, only Murray required a second operation shortly after that 2019 Australian Open defeat, opting not for the full hip replacement which some said he necessitated, but the hip resurfacing surgery, which involved a cobalt-chrome metal cap being placed over the femur with a matching metal cup in the acetabulum, our rounded hip bone socket.