Andy Murray says hip injury wasn't caused by relentless pursuit of Federer, Djokovic, and Nadal

What's the story?

In a recent interview on BBC Radio 4, Andy Murray was asked whether trying to compete with Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Rafael Nadal caused his near career-ending hip injury.

The Scot was quick to deny the theory, though, suggesting that the injury occurred due to his mentality towards his body.

In case you didn't know...

Despite being one of the best players of his generation, Murray has remained in the shadow of the Big 3. However, his hard work on and off the court has yielded three Grand Slams titles and an ascent to the top of the ATP Rankings in 2016.

Unfortunately, he was soon struck down by injury and eventually had to undergo hip resurfacing which kept him out of action for over a year.

The heart of the matter

There have been several theories regarding why Murray's fall was so swift. As one of the most athletic players on tour, it seemed strange that his body would breakdown in the manner it did.

While many pundits suggested that the injury was the result of him pushing his body to the limits in order to try and compete with the Big 3, Murray himself dismissed this line of thought.

“I don’t know if it was because of them or if it was my mentality. I would have always had to have an operation like this for my hip at some stage but I probably could have delayed that by several years had I trained and done things slightly differently and I guess that is stuff."

What's next?

Murray has made a successful return to the ATP Tour following his hip surgery. He has already won a title since his comeback - at Antwerp - and will be looking to build on that heading into the 2020 season.