Former World No.1 Andy Murray on Thursday has accepted the invitation to return to Rolex Shanghai Masters, Asia’s biggest men’s tournament and only ATP Masters 1000 by accepting the wild card awarded to him. Murray is the winner of three majors and has two Olympic Gold medals. He had undergone hip surgery in January and is said to be returning on September 23 for the ATP Tour in Zhuhai. Following that, he will participate in the Shanghai Masters scheduled to be held from October 6 to October 13.

Murray back in Shanghai

“I’m really looking forward to being going back to Shanghai, a tournament I have had success at in the past – the last time I was there was in 2016. Thanks to the tournament for a wild card, it’s great to be able to continue my comeback and play more tennis in China. Shanghai is a great city, I feel comfortable there and the fans are always supportive.” Murray was quoted by the tournament website.

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Murray is a four-time finalist and a three-time winner at the Rolex Shanghai Masters. He, along with Novak Djokovic, has been in the final more often than any other player. In 2010, he became the tournament’s youngest champion at the age of 23 years, that year he defeated Roger Federer in the event’s shortest final.

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On the comeback of Andy Murray, the Tournament Director Michael Luevano said: “He is incredibly popular with our fans and we are all thrilled to see him back on the courts and heading to Shanghai. Murray has been through a lot physically in recent times so to see him back doing what he loves is very rewarding for everyone in tennis.”

Murray's Post Surgery performances

In an emotional press conference at the Australian Open in January, Murray had announced his retirement this year. However, after his hip surgery he returned to action at Queen’s, playing doubles with Feliciano Lopez and winning the Wimbledon warm-up event. In July, Andy Murray and Serena Williams played together in the mixed doubles draw at Wimbledon. Murray entered the Rafa Nadal Academy in August to make his first Challenger appearance since 2005, when he reached the quarter-finals in Mons, Belgium. Andy lost against Matteo Viola at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Mallorca.

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