Andy Murray Wins Antwerp Crown for First Tournament Title Since Hip Surgery
(October 20, 2019) Playing under a protected ranking, Andy Murray won the first ATP Tour title since undergoing hip surgery when he rallied from a set and a break down on Sunday in Antwerp to beat 4th seed Stan Wawrinka 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in a duel between a pair of three-time major champions.
Murray was in danger of not playing tennis again back mid-January, planning of playing Wimbledon as a career finale. But the Scotsman had another hip surgery, the same type that doubles player Bob Bryan had the year before.
In two hours and 27 minutes Murray captured his first title since 2017 Dubai, with the European Open crown over the 34-year-old Swiss. The 32-year-old had not advanced past the quarterfinals since returning to singles play in August.
“It means a lot. The past few years have been extremely difficult. Both me and Stan have had a lot of injury problems in the past couple of years. Amazing to be back playing against him in a final like that. I think it was a great match,” Murray said after the match on-court.
“I just managed to hang in a bit at the end of the second set and the third set was extremely close again. I didn’t expect to be in this position so I’m very happy. This is one of the biggest wins that I’ve had after everything so I’m very proud.”
Next stop for Murray will be fatherhood for a third time. His wife is expecting their third child any day now.
