Andy Murray has some fun with Roger Federer

Andy Murray showed off his form at the Glasgow charity match with Roger Federer but was evasive when questioned about the chronic hip injury and when he’s coming back to competitive tennis. 

Kilts, wigs, babies, oh my!

First of all, let’s get to that charity match between great sportsmen and philanthropists Andy Murray and Roger Federer. Federer — coming off a tremendously successful tennis year, even by his overachieving standards, and the current world No. 2 — of course won the match for Andy Murray LIVE! He beat the 30-year-old 6-3, 3-6, 10-6. Understandable considering that Murray’s been off from tennis for months, nursing a deep hip injury.

But still, the Scot managed to get a set off the Swiss legend, all the while making it a ton of fun. One extremely retweeted highlight was the sight of Federer playing while wearing a kilt, causing the stadium to erupt in approval. He tweeted it himself with the title, “Kilterer,” while others went with a more native Scottish brogue name of McFederer. Either way, it’s social media gold.

But, he paid his friend back in turn by goading him to wear a Scottish golf hat along with a matching red-haired wig.

All in good fun for Murray’s charity of course, which raised $2M from the event. But, the big question was how did Murray do? He hasn’t been on a tennis court in months before training for the special event. Instead, he’s been focusing on rehabbing the knee and gaining strength back. The first time he hit the practice courts was just a few weeks ago.

“I’ve spent more time in the gym with my physios than I have on the tennis court but in the last 10 days,” said Murray in the press conference. “I’ve been on the court an hour-and-a-half, two hours, most days.”

From the looks of it, the hip seems to still be bothering him, but the world No. 16 certainly showed good form, even if by his own admission he’s not 100 percent recovered. Still, his movement has sports fans concerned.

“I was disheartened to see that he hadn’t made much progress in terms of the way he was walking between points – more than four months on,” said Andrew Castle, a British TV commentator and a former British No. 1. “To be quite honest, I’m just not liking what I’m seeing.”

You can read more analysis here.

“You never know how you’re going to come back from injuries,” said Murray, “but I believe that with the work that I’m doing, and I have been hitting the ball very well in practice, it’s just that there is a difference between 75-80 percent in practice and going flat out at 100 percent for two and a half or three hours on the match court.”

But, maybe he had a lot on his mind, too. His wife, Kim Sears Murray, had just given birth hours before. The baby girl will now join big sister Sophia. His mom, Judy, tweeted about the family affair. Considering they had a new addition earlier in the day, it really was quite a family day for the tennis star.

The sad news for Andy Murray fans is that the recovery seems to be going even slower than expected, with Murray admitting that he may not even return as soon as the Australian Open. But, when pressed about the injury and an estimated return date, Murry wouldn’t commit on either account.

“I don’t want to go into [it],” was Murray’s cryptic answer. The former world No. 1 wanted keep things focused on the fun, the charity match at hand. “There are a few things going on in my hip that I don’t need to talk about here.”

Tennis fans were hoping he would return even earlier than next year’s Australian Open, in one of the warm-up events before the first grand slam of the year. However, he is still considering entering the tournament at Brisbane International for now, which begins Dec. 31, weeks before the Aussie Open. But, he also told his fans not to expect much at first.

“When I get back on the court next year and start playing again it might not come immediately,” said Murray in the presser. “I might not play my best tennis straight off.”

Perhaps he’s taking the advice from Roger Federer, who counseled him at the exhibition, to let his body heal properly.

“Take your time, however long it takes,” Federer said he advised Murray. “When you come back you want to be at 100 percent, otherwise you feel you just can’t beat the best at the big tournaments, so it’s wise and worthwhile to take the extra week, an extra month maybe. I’m sure Andy is going to have a lot of years left, so he shouldn’t hurry.”

Let’s hope recovery keeps progressing and we get a chance to see another member of the Big Four in the new year. But, Murray assured his fans to not lose out hope. He will be back, but everyone’s question of when is still unanswered.

“I think I’ll be able to come back just fine,” Murray assured everyone. “I’ll come back when I’m ready.”

In the meantime, he can enjoy some quality time with his growing family. And a little downtime: judging from the charity match on Tuesday, we know the 30-year-old knows how to have a fun time.