Andy Murray says he is serving at full throttle again as he bids to rebuild his injury-ravaged career when tennis returns after the coronavirus shutdown.

The three-time Grand Slam champion played his first tournament since last November at the Battle of the Brits event last week.

The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) tours are due to return next month, with the U.S. Open starting on August 31 and the French Open beginning a month later.

Murray, who is set to return to action at the Washington Open in mid-August, is planning to play both the Grand Slam events.

"Getting the U.S. Open and the French Open played this year is a good thing, I think," the 33-year-old told the BBC.

"It's positive, I just don't like the way the French Open went about scheduling their event."

"But we're going to have to go back to playing at some stage. The most important thing is that the events are safe."

Murray had career-saving hip surgery in 2019, before suffering another setback with a pelvic injury.

The British former world number one was upbeat about his fitness following the Battle of the Brits event, where he reached the semi-finals.

"I am able to serve well again and am able to serve as hard as I was in my mid-20s, which given I didn't know I was going to be able to play again has been really positive," he said.

"Obviously when you are able to serve bigger and harder, it means more shorter points – and that means good news for the body and the hip. The harder I serve, the better it is for my other hip I guess."

Some players have questioned the strict protocols vowed by the U.S. Open organizers but Murray gave some justifications to the rules as players including world number one Novak Djokovic tested positive during the Adria Tour exhibition tournament, which lacked precautions. 

"Obviously it's not surprising how many players have tested positive when you see the scenes and the images and the videos from the tournament and the players party with no social distancing in place," Murray said last Tuesday.

"I've seen some people say this puts the U.S. Open in doubt but the measures and the protocols they have in place are completely different to what was going on in Serbia and Croatia."

"For a start, there will be no fans and the players will now know we can all be affected by this, it doesn't matter who you are, we need to respect the rules."

(Cover image: Andy Murray plays a forehand during his singles match against James Ward on day three of Schroders Battle of the Brits at the National Tennis Centre in London, England, June 25, 2020. /VCG)

(With input from agencies)