Returning Andy Murray looking at the bigger picture

After the highs of 2016 which saw him rise to number one in the world, win a second Wimbledon crown and defend his Olympic singles title, the last 12 months have been more of a struggle for the Brit, with a persisting hip injury restricting his fitness.

The 30-year-old last played competitively at Wimbledon back in July and has dropped to 16th in the world since.

With the Australian Open looming in January, he is set to make his return to the court at the Brisbane International next week, where he will play either Ryan Harrison or Leonardo Mayer in the second round.

Murray is one of a number of top players alongside Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka who have suffered from injuries lately.

And he concedes that taking more breaks from the ATP tour will be a necessity for him going forwards.

"Certainly, when you miss a period, you realise how lucky you are to be doing this as a job," he said.

"Giving yourself breaks, especially as you start to get older, I think, is very important and something that I'll certainly be looking to do for however long I keep playing.

"For tennis as a sport, it's not good when so many of the top players are injured and for extended periods.

"I certainly think it's something that should be looked at and to understand why, what the reason for that is."