The 32-year-old Murray, who underwent hip surgery seven months ago in a bid to save his career, returned to singles action last week, when he lost to Richard Gasquet in Cincinnati.

MIKE DICKSON: Andy Murray took just 42 minutes to register his first singles win since his second hip operation on Monday night at the home of a great rival.

A weary Andy Murray needed treatment for cramp he was beaten last night by the world number 240, bringing to an end his experiment with the Rafa Nadal Challenger event in Mallorca.

In order to qualify, GB are reliant on him using up one of his 'protected ranking' entries. Murray is counted as a world No 2 for these purposes under the scheme that helps the long-term injured return.

MIKE DICKSON IN NEW YORK: Barcelona footballing superstar Gerard Pique has taken advantage of the international break to visit New York and promote his sports business venture.

Despite being sceptical about the January date, Murray on Friday exercised his right to enter the GB team under his protected ranking of number three, which guarantees qualification.

JONATHAN GORNALL: There are two things you can do to avoid osteoarthritis or keep it at bay once joints start to stiffen and feel painful: stay active and watch your weight.

Andy Murray scored arguably his best singles win since the onset of his hip issues when he knocked US Open semi-finalist Matteo Berrettini out of the China Open this morning.

Andy Murray survived two tight and attritional sets against compatriot Cameron Norrie before eventually breaking him down to power into the quarter final of the China Open.

Andy Murray is finding his comeback so exhausting that he needed to take a nap before performing his post-match media duties after making the last eight of the China Open.

HOT OR NOT: It's Hot or Not time again as Sportsmail's Riath Al-Samarrai reveals what's been making him feel warm and what's been leaving him cold this week.

The Swiss maestro has never won singles gold in the Olympics, coming closest when he finished runner-up to Andy Murray in London in 2012.

MIKE DICKSON IN ANTWERP: The attraction of being just a three-hour train ride from home was a persuasive argument for Andy Murray to wrap up his mini comeback tour at the European Open.

MIKE DICKSON IN ANTWERP: Forty miles and nearly four years from a great win, Andy Murray was on Tuesday night back on court in Belgium, seeking to complete his four-week comeback tour.

Four weeks into his gruelling singles comeback tour, Andy Murray shows no sign of stopping. The 32-year-old Scot made short work of world No 48 Pablo Cuevas.

MIKE DICKSON IN ANTWERP: The 32 year-old Scot will play his first semi-final since the 2017 French Open after overcoming Romania's Marius Copil 6-3 6-7 6-4 in two hours and 35 minutes.

MIKE DICKSON: Having witnessed Andy Murray emerge from a Scottish backwater to break the mould of underachieving British tennis I should have known better.

Andy Murray will represent Great Britain for the first time since 2016 after being called up to the Davis Cup squad. The call up comes a day after Murray's memorable European Open triumph.

MIKE DICKSON IN ANTWERP: 'I know I'm a pain to work with but at the same time when I've been asked to do something I do it and I don't skip days,' said Murray after his triumph on Sunday.

Kyle Edmund has completed Great Britain's squad for the new-format Davis Cup in Madrid next month. Captain Leon Smith gave Edmund the nod over Cam Norrie.

The baby, born in London this month, inherits the middle name which has passed down the Murray (pictured, Andy and Kim) family's male line for generations.

Andy Murray believes that his newly-refurbished body may be more suited to contesting the Grand Slams than regular tour events when he resumes playing in the Majors next year.

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique has raised a few eyebrows after unveiling his plan, via his marketing company, to rejuvenate the Davis Cup by giving it a fresh twist to broaden its appeal.

Andy Murray has encouraged everyone in tennis to get behind the new Davis Cup format masterminded by Gerard Pique. The event begins at Caja Magica in Madrid on Monday.

Andy Murray, Kyle Edmund and Team GB were challenged to insert lines from the new Disney film, Frozen 2, into their answers at a Davis Cup press conference on Tuesday.

MIKE DICKSON IN MADRID: There are certain privileges that come with winning three Grand Slams and a Davis Cup for your country as Andy Murray is finding out this week.

Andy is playing in the Davis Cup for the first time since 2016 but is in the unusual position of being the singles number two, with Dan Evans and Kyle Edmund battling for the number one spot.

MIKE DICKSON IN MADRID: Andy Murray, heavy-legged and relying purely on his old fighting instincts, avoided a shock defeat on his return to Davis Cup tennis by the narrowest of margins.

MIKE DICKSON IN MADRID: From Andy Murray there was the unprecedented confession that he had let his high standards slip when it came to preparing for this Davis Cup finals week.

Andy Murray said he neglected to think about the feelings of those close to him and insisted his wife Kim, who he married in 2015 in Dunblane had been 'brilliant' through the ordeal.

Kyle Edmund produced one of his most impressive performances in recent months to push Great Britain one step closer to a quarter-final berth at the Davis Cup in Madrid.

Andy Murray, who was on court for just shy of three hours, looked physically spent at the end of the 6-7, 6-4, 7-6 and admitted after that he is not in the best shape and so it was logical to rest him on Thursday.

MIKE DICKSON IN MADRID: Andy Murray was reduced to the role of courtside spectator as his brother Jamie and Neal Skupski put Great Britain through to the quarter finals of the Davis Cup.

MIKE DICKSON IN MADRID: GB has fought its way through to a quarter-final at this self-styled 'World Cup of Tennis.' It is not football, but the whole thing has a certain ring to it.

MIKE DICKSON IN MADRID: There is no haunting of this Great Britain Davis Cup team by the ghost of Andy Murray, and they charged through to the semi-finals on Friday night.

MIKE DICKSON IN MADRID: Nothing has been able to derail Kyle Edmund, not even the surprise of finding his opponent had been changed at the last minute.

MIKE DICKSON IN MADRID: Andy Murray was sitting on the team bench, contorted with anxiety, while his elder brother was heroically trying to force GB into the Davis Cup final.

MIKE DICKSON IN MADRID: Leon Smith hopes Great Britain can return to Madrid next year with an even stronger Davis Cup team after narrowly missing out on a place in the final.

The 32-year-old was reduced to the role of anxious spectator after taking nearly three hours to defeat little-known Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor in the opening group match.

Former world No 1 Andy Murray has revealed how he 'was pretty much done with tennis' as he struggled with the physical and mental pain of his serious injury.

The tennis star, who was just nine-years-old at the time of the shooting at the school in Dunblane near Stirling, Scotland, has told a documentary how he attended kids clubs with the killer.

Sir Andy Murray's energy levels dropped during matches as he was playing video games until 3am before a tournament. He took his PlayStation to every match and it caused rows with a former coach.

MIKE DICKSON IN SYDNEY: Tim Henman got an abrupt introduction to the joys of team management and coaching immediately after touching down in Sydney.

MIKE DICKSON IN SYDNEY: Tim Henman has admitted he always feared he would be unable to call upon Andy Murray for the ATP Cup after he learned of his bruised pelvic injury.

Liverpool have earned a double nomination at this year's prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards after their incredible Champions League triumph last season.

MIKE DICKSON IN BRATISLAVA: Defeated Fed Cup captain Anne Keothavong had an air of resignation as she considered the chances of persuading Jo Konta to rejoin the team.

There is no mention of Murray in the publicity for next month's Miami Open and sources have told Sportsmail that getting himself right for the grass courts in June is now a more realistic target.

Murray is currently sidelined through injury, this time pelvic bruising that has kept him out of action since November, with no indication yet when he will be able to make his comeback.

Five years on from the victory that would facilitate one of British tennis's greatest triumphs, James Ward was flogging away on court somewhere in Ohio.

After winning in Antwerp in October, Murray suffered pelvic bruising a month later and is yet to play in 2020. But despite his problems, he divulged that he is back practicing on court.