EASTBOURNE, England — After his first win in nearly a year, Andy Murray wasn’t ready to commit to playing at Wimbledon next week.
Murray beat Stan Wawrinka 6-1, 6-3 at the Eastbourne International on Monday in the second match of his comeback from long-term hip problems.
Murray returned last week at the Queen’s Club and lost to Nick Kyrgios in the first round.
He said if he believes his body can handle Grand Slam best-of-five-set matches, then he’ll play at Wimbledon, where he’s won twice.
“If I don’t, then obviously I won’t play,” Murray said. “I’m coming back from a very serious injury which is not easy.
“I’m not putting any pressure on myself to make that decision after one match here or two matches, because I don’t need to. I can decide when I want.
“The match with Nick was two hours, 45 minutes, and the slams, you have to be prepared for four hours. That (against Kyrgios) obviously could have gone another couple of sets potentially, and I didn’t feel great the following day.”
Wawrinka, coming back from his own long-term knee injury, contributed to his downfall with an erratic serve. He hit eight aces but double-faulted four times, including on match point.
Murray’s last success came in the fourth round of Wimbledon on July 10, 2017, when he was No. 1.
“I thought the first set I played well, second set was a little bit patchy at times, a bit nervous towards the end.
“When you’ve not played for the best part of a year, closing out the match against someone like Stan, who I’ve had lots of great matches with — tough, tough guy to play against — was tough. But delighted to get the win.”
He next faces second-seeded Kyle Edmund, who overtook him as the British No. 1 while he was injured.
Another Briton is also through to the second round, after Jay Clarke beat Ryan Harrison of the United States 6-4, 6-1.
It was the teenager’s first ATP Tour win and his first victory over a player in the top 100. Harrison is ranked 58th.
Also through was sixth-seeded David Ferrer.
In the women’s draw, defending champion Karolina Pliskova survived a scare to beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and reach the third round.
Top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki, last year’s runner-up, had an easier passage as she beat Camila Giorgi 6-2, 6-2.
