Andy Murray makes late decision to play in Rotterdam Open
Andy Murray lost to Japan's Taro Daniel in second round of the Australian Open; Scot is yet to appoint a permanent successor to coach Jamie Delgado and appears to have ended his trial period with Jan de Witt; Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer to team up at Laver Cup in London in September
Thursday 3 February 2022 17:09, UK
Andy Murray has made a late decision to play in next week's Rotterdam Open in what will be his first appearance since a second-round defeat at the Australian Open, while Roger Federer has spoken about his future.
Murray lost in straight sets to Japan's Taro Daniel in Melbourne having seen off Georgia's Nikoloz Basilashvili in five sets in round one of the first Grand Slam of the year.
The Scot is also set to play in the Qatar Open in Doha followed by the Dubai Tennis Championships in the United Arab Emirates later this month.
Murray, who finished runner-up in the Sydney Tennis Classic ahead of the Australian Open, has reportedly ended his trial period with coach Jan de Witt.
The 34-year-old added De Witt, a former coach of France's Gilles Simon and Gael Monfils, to his team having split with long-time coach Jamie Delgado at the end of 2021.
Speaking in December, Murray - who is now ranked 102nd in the world - said he would not rush into appointing a permanent successor to Delgado.
"The decision is an important one for me," he said. "Obviously I don't know how much longer I'm going to be playing so I want to make sure that the person that's with me for the last period of my career is the right one."
Murray also trialled Johanna Konta's former coach Esteban Carril at the Stockholm Open late last year.
Federer: An important next few months ahead of me
Roger Federer, who underwent two knee surgeries in 2020, has said he still has the drive and motivation to make a successful comeback.
The 40-year-old played just 13 matches in 2021 and has slipped to No 30 in the rankings.
"I want to come back strong and give it everything that I have," Federer, a 20-time Grand Slam champion, said.
"To give you a little bit of an update. I have a very interesting and important next few months ahead of me. I think I will know a lot more by April-May.
"The drive is still there. I am motivated to do my work.
"I'm back in the gym again tomorrow. I'm working as hard as I'm allowed to so it's still good times even though it's a little bit slow.
"I would love to do way more but the doctors and everybody's holding me back a little bit."
Federer, Nadal to team up in Laver Cup
Australian Open champion Rafael Nadal will team up with Federer in September at the Laver Cup at London's O2 Arena.
Nadal and Federer - who previously paired up for doubles at the inaugural Laver Cup in Prague in 2017 - will be part of a European team captained by Bjorn Borg to take on Team World.
Nadal eclipsed Federer and Novak Djokovic's tally of 20 Grand Slam titles when he defeated Daniil Medvedev in Melbourne last Sunday having battled back from two sets down.
Nadal said: "The Laver Cup is such a unique event and I've loved competing in it. I suggested to Roger we should play doubles together in London and he seems keen, so now we just need to persuade our captain Bjorn!
"Roger has been a huge part of my career, a big rival and also a true friend. To be part of Team Europe together is great and if we're able to possibly share the court one more time as a doubles pairing then this would be a truly special experience for us both at this stage in our careers."
Federer, currently recovering from knee surgery, said: "I'm really looking forward to getting back into competition later this year and the Laver Cup is very much part of my plan.
"Rafa is an incredible person and an inspiration to me and countless others around the world. He messaged me on social media after the Laver Cup in Boston last year suggesting we play doubles in London and I am definitely up for a Laver Cup 'Fedal' comeback!"
Nadal: 21 Slams may not be enough in all-time race
Nadal also believes he will need to add to his 21 Grand Slams to end his career with more than Federer and Djokovic.
"I have no idea what number of Grand Slams I will have," Nadal told reporters at his academy in Mallorca. "I want to be the one with the most majors out of the three of us, I would love that.
"But I'm not obsessed, absolutely not. Whatever comes is welcome. I don't think 21 is enough, to be honest, but you never know what will happen in the future."
Djokovic describes Australian visa ordeal as 'unfortunate'
Novak Djokovic described his detention and deportation from Australia that prevented him from defending his Australian Open title as an "unfortunate event" and thanked the Serbian president for his support.
The top-ranked tennis star met with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Thursday and described the events in Australia as "unexpected, to say the least".
"I wanted to meet with you today because, primarily as a citizen of Serbia, I felt a great need to thank you for great support that you, as the president of Serbia, gave me, as well as all state institutions during the unfortunate events in Australia," Djokovic said.
"Although I was alone in detention, and faced with many problems and challenges, I wasn't feeling lonely. I had huge support primarily from my family, all of the close people in my life, entire Serbian nation, many people with good intentions from the region and the world."
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