Sharks appear to be circling Andy Murray as he attempts to come back from his hip operation.
One baby shark, at the very least.
The former world no.1 is back in action after winning his first ATP tour match against Tennys Sandgren in the Zhuhai Championships.
Next opponent, Alex de Minaur, represents a step up in level having reached the fourth round of the US Open at the age of 20 having climbed briefly into the world’s top 25.
He is currently ranked 31 and seeded no. 7 in the current tournament.
In a recent article with the financial magazine Forbes he spoke earnestly about creating the right image.
“I am a strong believer in looking at the positives of everything and setting up your image for the long-term,” he says. “Build your image and then hopefully when tennis is over, you have something to fall back on.”
And the normally serious Australian appears in relaxed mood in China.
In a break from preparing for the Murray match he has posted a video on his Instagram account of himself looking straight-faced – but dancing in front of a mirror wearing a fluffy bunny hat given to him by a fan to the viral internet children’s hit “Baby Shark”.
Murray looked in good form as he dispatched Sandgren on Monday and has been speaking about returning to the top of the game.
The Scot has given himself until February to be really competitive with the big boys – or he’ll start planning his retirement.
Speaking exclusively to Express Sport he said: “If I was stepping on court in February and I did not feel I had any chance of going up against the best five players in the world and winning, I probably would not enjoy that.”
He added: “If I went out there against one of those three (Nadal, Federer or Djokovic) and lost 6-1, 6-1 and got killed, yeah, that is not necessarily productive.
“The mentality going into a match like that right now would not be ideal.
“Not that I ever felt playing them I was ever favourite, but I always felt I would have a chance.
“But right now, that would not be the case.
“Although, if I went and was actually competitive, did well and performed well, that can actually help, I don’t know…”
