Injury scare turned Andy into Madrid spectator

Andy MurrAy has revealed that it was a bruise on a bone in his pelvic area which caused him to miss three matches at last week’s davis Cup finals. The 32-year-old was reduced to the role of anxious spectator after taking nearly three hours to defeat little-known dutchman Tallon Griekspoor in the opening group match last Wednesday. A dull pain led to the decision to bench him for the remainder of the competition, in which Great Britain reached the semi-finals before losing to Spain on Saturday. ‘I had a scan straight after the match with Griekspoor because my groin area was sore,’ he said. ‘I had noticed it a little bit for a couple of days in the build-up. ‘After playing in Antwerp I took 12 days off and didn’t hit any balls, and then I slowly built up until I got over to Madrid. Then I started practising hard and I noticed it was a bit sore. ‘It’s mild. But it was something which, if I had played on it, it could have got worse. And that’s why it was difficult for me. ‘I wanted to try to play. I didn’t know how many opportunities I would get to play again in the quarter-finals or semi-finals of the davis Cup. ‘Obviously the other guys were playing really well and it looked like they can handle themselves. But I would have liked to have tried to play. ‘It was probably the right decision. I probably wouldn’t have influenced the matches differently to any of the guys that played, ultimately.’ Murray (above) was speaking prior to the screening of the documentary Resurfacing, which charts his comeback from chronic hip problems over the past two years. The Scot does not believe the pelvic problem will be long term and still plans to leave for Miami in early december for a training block prior to the new ATP Cup competition in Sydney, which starts on January 3. ‘I guess the good thing about stopping when I did was that it’s mild, so it shouldn’t be long,’ he said. ‘But, with injuries, I know not to listen to everything you’re told. I hope we got it at the beginning of the issue.’