![Britain's Andy Murray reacts as he plays against Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka during their men's singles tennis final match for The European Open ATP Antwerp, in Antwerp](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/tennis/2020/03/05/TELEMMGLPICT000219414739_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqBJu0T4KjspztFWJiMmYxARw9wv1S49IOcmoPP2wYhm0.jpeg?imwidth=680)
Andy Murray likely to return at the Miami Open
Murray's return is ahead of schedule with the tournament taking place at the end of March
![Britain's Andy Murray reacts as he plays against Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka during their men's singles tennis final match for The European Open ATP Antwerp, in Antwerp](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/tennis/2020/03/05/TELEMMGLPICT000219414739_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqBJu0T4KjspztFWJiMmYxARw9wv1S49IOcmoPP2wYhm0.jpeg?imwidth=680)
Andy Murray’s training block at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton is progressing smoothly enough to suggest a likely return at the Miami Open in less than three weeks’ time.
Murray has been playing practice points with quality partners, including British No 5 Jay Clarke and the up-and-coming 18-year-old Anton Matusevich. This is quite the turnaround from the position a fortnight ago, when he had barely stepped foot on a tennis court all year.
As Murray told reporters last month, he has been affected by a condition called “heterotopic ossification” – which means that his body is building new bone within his soft tissues. This is something that is known to happen for 12 to 14 months after the insertion of a metal implant, like the ball-and-socket joint which has now replaced much of his right hip.
Murray said then that he feared he would need a third operation to remove this extra bony growth, but added that he would test his hip out anyway by ramping up his training load. It now seems that he is making strong enough progress to feel optimistic of a playing return in Miami, the city where he has a second home and has twice won the Masters 1000 event.
Having already posted a couple of social-media videos featuring his on-court drills, Murray gave an interview on Tuesday to Amazon Prime Video. “I’m training to try and get ready for Miami,” he said. “I’ve done so much rehab these last few months that, in terms of my strength and everything, all of the muscles around the hip are working well. It’s just I hadn’t played tennis.
“I’d hit like twice since Davis Cup [where he played his most recent competitive match against Tallon Griekspoor on Nov 20] for like 40 minutes in a three-month period so I need some time to build up and feel good on the court again. That’s my plans just now unless I have a setback or something.”
Meanwhile the former British No 2 Katie Boulter claimed her first top-100 scalp for over a year last night as she overcame Anna Blinkova – the world No 60 from Russia – in the preliminary event at Indian Wells. Boulter has been working her way back from the spinal stress fracture that wiped her out for most of last season. This result should provide welcome encouragement as she works to lift her ranking from its lowly position of No 396.