Andy Murray urged to press ahead with hip surgery, by Bob Bryan who underwent same operation
The doubles champion Bob Bryan has urged Andy Murray to press ahead with the “Birmingham hip” operation, which he says will transform Murray’s quality of life, and could even help him rejoin the professional tennis tour.
The operation is a halfway house to a full hip replacement. It involves replacing the femoral head with a metal ball, and cementing a metal socket into the hip joint.
Bryan – who is 40 – underwent the operation in August, at the hands of New York-based specialist Dr Edwin Su. He and twin brother Mike reached the semi-finals of last week’s ATP event in Auckland – their first tournament back together – and also won their opening match at the Australian Open earlier today. Bryan did acknowledge, however, that singles is a far more strenuous form of the game.
“Seeing the way Andy Murray is feeling hit a nerve with me,” said Bryan. “I would love to see him do a similar surgery, feel the relief that it gives. I think our hips are pretty similar: just worn down, no cartilage.
“I'm really the only guy to be playing on tour with a metal hip. So he's been watching me like a hawk, asking me how I'm feeling after matches, after practices, where I'm at.”
Bryan, like Murray, initially tried to save his career through conservative treatments, hoping he could avoid going under the knife.
“I had a guy electrocuting me in Miami. A needle stem guy. I was in a pool. Then I went out to the west coast to get a stem cell injection. Nothing helped.