Murray worry as bone injury delays return
ANDY MURRAY has pulled out of two scheduled tournament appearances next month as his fitness struggle goes on. The 32-year-old Scot, who is already missing the current swing of events in Australia, announced he will not be making his planned comeback at the ATP tournaments in Montpellier and Rotterdam, starting on February 3. Murray’s statement will only stoke fears there are serious problems afoot again. ‘The bone bruising (around the pelvic area) is taking longer to heal than first thought, so I won’t be playing in Montpellier or Rotterdam,’ said Murray. ‘I don’t want to rush anything or put a timeline on my recovery. I’m going to listen to my body and step back on the court to compete when the time is right.’ The 2013 and 2016 Wimbledon champion continues to work hard in the gym but has apparently not been able to do much on the court. It means that Murray has only been able to play once since his win at the European Open in Antwerp on October 20. There did not seem to be any physical concerns then, but he laboured to a win over Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor at the Davis Cup finals in November.
After that he revealed some bruising had come up in his pelvic and groin area. This is an unusual problem and there will be fears it may be connected to the hip issue which has already seen him have two operations — the last on January 28 last year. While American doubles specialist Bob Bryan was able to resume his career after a similar resurfacing procedure, Murray and his team have always said that, as a singles player, he is entering uncharted territory. In yesterday’s Australian Open draw, British No 1 and 30th seed Dan Evans was paired with American Mackenzie McDonald. Jo Konta, seeded 12, drew Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur and could face seven-times champion Serena Williams in the last 16. Kyle Edmund, who lost 7-6, 7-6 to John Isner in the quarter-finals of the ASB Classic in Auckland yesterday, was given a difficult opener against Serbian 24th seed Dusan Lajovic. Heather Watson, who starts against Kristyna Pliskova at the Australian Open, was due to play her Hobart semi-final overnight after putting out top seed Elise Mertens 6-7, 6-4, 7-5 yesterday.