Andy Murray Will Return for Australian Open

Andy Murray is set to compete in the Australian Open next January, according to the tournament director.

The British number one has been sidelined since limping out of Wimbledon with a hip injury in July and, although he has not officially confirmed it, he is unlikely to play again this year, Mirror.co.uk reported.

But tournament director Craig Tiley says Murray will be among a host of top stars returning to grand slam tennis in the New Year, along with Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams, Stan Wawrinka and Kei Nishikori.

Djokovic has also not played since Wimbledon due to an elbow injury, Wawrinka and Nishikori have been missing since the summer with respective knee and wrist problems, while Williams appears set to return to Melbourne Park to defend the 2017 title she won while eight weeks pregnant with her first child.

“I’m very happy to confirm that all the top players will be back in Melbourne in January,” Tiley said at the tournament’s launch. “I can tell you that in talking to Andy, he has been training and he is preparing for having a great year in 2018.”

“As competitive as Andy is, we know he’s back and he’ll want to improve his current ranking of number three in the world and getting back to number one,” he added.

If Murray, Djokovic, Wawrinka and Nishikori are back in action in Melbourne, it could make for some mouthwatering clashes in the early rounds, with all four men set to have unusually low seedings.