Andy Murray has done a shock U-turn and decided that he will not be abandoning the clay court season after all.

The twice Wimbleton champion has made the surprise move to accept a wildcard into next week’s Madrid Open and reverse his choice not to play on the brown dirt, which had seemed final.

Murray had announced last month that he was skipping the current leg of the season in order to protect his hip and be in optimum shape for the grass court season.

However, he has now revealed that he is accepting a wildcard into the prestigious clay court Masters level event, which he won in 2015.

Murray has been training in Florida under the eye of Ivan Lendl, and is reported to be so pleased with his physical state that he wants to give the clay another go. He is also on the entry list for the French Open, which takes place immediately before the grass court swing.

His original position was that the movement on clay was awkward for his hip, and that he wanted to focus everything on having a successful grass campaign, which offers him the best chance of deep progress in tournaments.