Andy Murray is pushing his body to limits that are sometimes scary: Julien Varlet

As someone who endured a hip injury similar to Andy Murray's, former tennis player Julien Varlet feels that the Brit's comeback on tour was only possible because of his elite mentality to push beyond the limits.

Murray's path to recovery from his injury has been nothing short of remarkable. The former World No. 1 had to undergo two surgeries, one in 2018 and the other the following year. While several critics wrote him off, Murray was determined to record a fitting final chapter in his illustrous career.

Currently on the comeback trail, Murray is ranked World No. 57 -- a drastic improvement on the position held outside the top 800 at one point in 2018. Varlet's career is similar to Murray's, with the Frenchman suffering a hip injury in his late 20s. However, there was no comeback for him, as the former World No. 135 ended his career abruptly in 2004.

Reflecting on his incapacity to recover from the injury back in the day, Varlet claimed that he was not at the level of Murray to fight his way through.

"I tried but it was crazy rough and I didn’t have the team support that Murray gets. I wasn’t at his level either! I had one hour of autonomy on the court. I couldn’t keep up," Varlet said in an interview to Tennis Majors.

Varlet emphasized Murray's elite mentality, stating that the Brit pushes his body beyond limits that are sometimes "scary."

"When I watched him in Australia playing for five hours… That guy is a monster! Each time I see him, I wonder how he does it. I’d love to spend just one day with him to see how he finds a way to play at this level. He’s pushing his body to limits that are sometimes scaring me but it’s his choice," he opined.

Varlet reckons the 35-year-old's surgery has been a huge success, opining that his agility has even improved considerably in recent times compared to earlier.

"In tennis, you have to move in every direction so that’s why I’m amazed by what he’s doing. He’s even moving better now than some time ago and got more power back on his footwork when having to change direction which proves that this surgery helped," he added.

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I have a tremendous respect for Andy Murray: Julien Varlet

Andy Murray at the 2023 Miami Open

Julien Varlet reiterated his admiration for Andy Murray in the interview, stating that he has a "tremendous respect" for the Brit for his physical and mental toughness.

"I have a tremendous respect for this guy, for what he’s doing physically but also mentally! He barely wins a match in under three hours, he keeps fighting. He loves the game, that’s for sure," Varlet asserted.

Andy Murray will soon be back in action at the 2023 Monte-Carlo Masters, commencing his clay season with an opening-round clash against Alex de Minaur.