Murray pulls out of tournament as he ponders future

ANDY Murray is yet to make a final decision on whether to have hip surgery but has pulled out of a tournament in Marseille next month.

The former world number one headed home from Melbourne earlier this week, following his emotional first-round defeat by Roberto Bautista Agut at the Australian Open, weighing up whether to have a resurfacing operation that could extend his career or end it completely.

Even if Murray does not have the operation, he has stated he would spend the time getting ready for a farewell appearance at Wimbledon, so it was no surprise to see a statement from the Open 13 in Marseille announcing Murray’s withdrawal.

He will also miss tournaments he had committed to in Dubai and Montpellier but Murray’s management insisted he has not made a final decision about surgery.

The 31-year-old strongly hinted ahead of his departure from Melbourne that he would have the operation, and was encouraged to do so by American doubles great Bob Bryan, who is playing at the Australian Open five months after undergoing the same procedure.

n AT Melbourne Park, Rafael Nadal sent out a statement by crushing Australian hope Alex De Minaur 6-1 6-2 6-4. De Minaur, 19, won the warm-up tournament in Sydney and had been touted as the home country’s best hope for success but the scoreline was the same as when they met at Wimbledon last summer.