There have been more false starts to Andy Murray’s comeback than the 1993 Grand National – the US Open, Brisbane, Rosmalen and, at a pinch, Loughborough – but there is a more definite air about his latest target: Shenzhen in September.

His team confirmed on Friday he will decide mid-week about playing Queen’s on Monday week, followed by Wimbledon on 2 July. They remain his favoured venues to break the painful and frustrating longueur he has endured since losing to Sam Querrey 12 months ago at the All England Club.

Having abandoned early hopes in favour of surgery in January, the months since have been agonising, swinging between high hopes and a series of setbacks in his rehab and training.

Now he has added Shenzhen to a tenative commitment to Washington ahead of Cincinnati and the US Open, but he had been equally keen to resume playing at Rosmalen next week, before bailing out at the last minute.

The indications are that his fitness is gathering momentum again. He will need the substantive evidence of comfort on the court to feel fully confident of coming back in the best possible order, though. And that has not been established.

He said on Friday morning: “I look forward to returning to Shenzhen to play at this year’s Open. I enjoy playing in China and I always appreciate the crowd support out there. I have some great memories from the last time I played, especially the final, so hopefully I will have a good run this year.”

Tournament Director Leon Sun was delighted that Murray has committed to the 2018 event. “Andy is one of the all-time greats of the game. He has achieved almost everything there is to achieve in the sport. It will be a great opportunity for the Shenzhen fans to see him play in person and we look forward to welcoming him to Shenzhen.”

The one-week tournament starts on 22 September, and an official announcement from organisers described Murray’s participation as the “first stop of his Asian Swing”.

As with much of schedule, that has not been confirmed. Murray won the inaugural title in 2014, when he saved five match points against Tommy Robredo.