Andy Murray hopes his recovery from a hip operation can continue on an upward trajectory after taking a wild card into next month's Rolex Shanghai Masters.
The former world number one is stepping up his singles comeback following surgery in January and will return to the ATP Tour at the Zhuhai Championships beginning on September 23.
Murray, who returned to singles action in Cincinnati last month, was last in action at a Challenger event in Majorca – his first time playing at that level for 14 years.
Look who is coming to the Rolex Shanghai Masters. A 3-time champion, @andy_murray has been awarded a wild card for the 2019 tournament 5 to 13 October pic.twitter.com/moPQjgILtU — RolexShMasters (@SH_RolexMasters) September 12, 2019
It did not end too well, going out in the third round to Matteo Viola, but it was an experience he enjoyed as he came through three matches in four days without any complications.
"The last tournament was at Challenger level which was good for me," Murray said. "We had good crowds there and it was different. I haven't played at that level for 14 or 15 years but I enjoyed it.
"I am just happy to be healthy again. I would like to be playing at a higher level but it was fun for me out there.
"Recovering from matches because I don't have pain, the preparation is fun. Hopefully it keeps going that way."
Murray has committed to playing for four weeks in a row as the China Open in Beijing is sandwiched in between his outings in Zhuhai and Shanghai before returning to Europe to compete in the European Open in Antwerp.
While he is now able to play pain-free the 32-year-old is still short of speed around the court, something he is banking on returning over the next few months.
"Now I don't have any limitations on what I can't do," Murray added at an event at Queen's to promote TRR Nutrition PRO Advanced Collagen – a daily liquid supplement developed specifically for the Scot.
"I am certainly still a little bit slow in terms of where I would like to get to. I'm thinking that in the next four or five months that is going to get better.
"Each week I have felt better but performances haven't necessarily shown that, in terms of results. But I have been feeling physically better."
