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MELBOURNE: Former world number one Andy Murray needed only a couple of days in Australia to realise the hip problem that has kept him out of competitive tennis since Wimbledon was not going to improve in time for the season’s first major.
Murray, five times a runner-up in Melbourne, withdrew from the Australian Open on Thursday, two days after pulling out of a tuneup event in Brisbane before his first match.
Confirmation of his absence came hours after Kei Nishikori announced that he, also, wouldn’t have enough time to fully recover from a torn wrist tendon before the Australian Open starts on January 15 in Melbourne.
The 30-year-old’s withdrawal was confirmed by Australian Open organisers who published a statement from the Scot on the tournament’s Twitter account on Thursday.
“Sadly I won’t be playing in Melbourne this year, as I am not yet ready to compete,” three-time Grand Slam champion Murray said. “I’ll be flying home shortly to assess all the options but I appreciate all the messages of support and I hope to be back playing soon.”
Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley said he respected what was a “very hard decision for Andy.”
He joins Nishikori on the absent list with several other players, including world number one Rafael Nadal and six-time Melbourne Park champion Novak Djokovic are battling to be fit for the Australian Open.
Tiley was confident that Djokovic (elbow) and Nadal (knee) would be ready.
On the women’s side of the draw there are question marks over the fitness of defending champion Serena Williams, who has not played competitively since giving birth four months ago.
Published in Dawn, January 5th, 2018
