Tennis news - Andy Murray to drop down to play ATP Challenger event

The three-time grand slam winner is looking to increase his time on court as he continues his comeback from hip surgery in January.

After playing doubles at Wimbledon, Murray returned to singles this month losing in the first round of events in Cincinnati and Winston-Salem to Richard Gasquet and Tennys Sandgren respectively.

Murray, now ranked 329th in the world, has already committed to playing the Zhuzai Championships in September and European and China Opens the following month, after deciding against competing in doubles events in the US Open.

The Scot, who last played at this level as an 18-year-old at a Challenger event in Mons, Belgium, suggested this was an option he would take after his reverse to Sandgren, saying: "Maybe I need to play a level down to get some matches and build my game a little bit before I start playing on the Tour again."

The Rafa Nadal Open begins on Monday in Mallorca.