Andy Murray to play Richard Gasquet at Cincinnati Masters on Monday - BBC Sport
Andy Murray will play his first singles match in seven months when he faces Richard Gasquet at the Cincinnati Masters on Monday.
Last updated on .From the section Tennis

Andy Murray will return to singles competition for the first time since January when he faces Richard Gasquet at the Cincinnati Masters on Monday.

The Briton, 32, lost in the first round of the Australian Open in January and broke down in tears amid fears a hip injury may end his career.

He underwent hip resurfacing surgery and has since played in doubles events.

Murray - now ranked 325 in the world - is expected on court around 19:00 BST against world-number-66 Gasquet.

Murray gained a wildcard entry and speaking on the eve of the tournament the three-time Grand Slam winner said he has had "good" results against top players on the practice court.

"But at some stage you have to take the step to try and play," he added. "The quickest way to get up to speed is by being on the practice and match court with top players.

"I'm not expecting to move as well I used to, but I think I can move better than I am now," he said. "That will take some time since I only started playing singles a couple of weeks ago.

"When you're playing at the highest level against the best players, they hit the ball big and that takes some time to get used to."

Novak Djokovic - who won the Cincinnati Open in 2018 - is part of the field for the tournament, as is world number three Roger Federer,

Meanwhile, Murray has added tournaments in China in September and October to his schedule but has not committed to playing singles at the US Open.

The final major of 2019 starts on 26 August in New York.