GIVE ME A BREAK!
Murray pulls out of yet another event ... after freak injury in his sleep
Andy Murray admitted he is becoming demoralised after sustaining a groin strain in his sleep which ruled him out of his latest tournament. yesterday’s sudden withdrawal from the Miami Open is just the latest mishap in a year that is fast becoming a tale of woe, as he tries to forge a comeback despite having a metal hip.
Five times this season he has pulled out of events, for reasons ranging from a change of mind, to a positive Covid test to the birth of his fourth child.
add to that what he described as a ‘freak’ occurrence which rendered worthless his trip to Florida, to play a tournament he has won twice before. Inevitably, it further promotes the question of whether his body will ever again withstand the strains of top-level singles tennis.
all had appeared well when he went to bed on Friday night, after arriving at his downtown apartment ment last Wednesday.
‘I woke up in the middle ddle of the night at about 2.30, 30, rolled over and felt like ke my groin was a bit sore,’ ’ he recounted. ‘When I got up at six in the morning to go to the toilet, I was in a lot of pain walking. I have no idea what happened. My physios don’t really understand d it either. I felt good od and travelled over here, re, practised and had no issues, sues, and then this happened. d.
‘It is obviously very frustrating and a bit demoralising. all of the indications with the gym work and training that I’m doing suggest I’m fine but then I keep getting these things.’
It will be four years this summer since his hip problems first manifested themselves. He conceded that the thought of more weeks of mind- numbing recovery work fills him with dread.
‘I can’t be bothered doing another eight or 10 weeks of rehab,’ he said. ‘The reason I am doing all of that stuff is to get back on the court and compete. It’s hard work and now I am finding it harder to get motivated to do all the rehab if I’m not going to be able to compete in the biggest events. This one was like, f***ing hell, just give me a break for this one event so that I can see what I am still able to do.’ although he was feeling much improved in the last 48 hours he will now have scans to investigate the problem. Then he will form a plan for a segment of the season dom dominated by clay, his least fav favoured surface. Giv Given that hips, lower bac back and groin tend to be inter-connected he m must hope for the best while perhaps fearing the worst. His absence is another blow to a tournament that is m missing a host of s stars. It is the first ti time since 2004 that a Ma Masters-level event has been held without any of roge roger Federer, rafael nadal an and novak djokovic. It is an im important few days for the rest of the British contingent, with 19-year-old Jack draper given a main draw wildcard as he seeks to restore what has been stalled progress over the past year. He faces former top 40 player Mikhail Kukushkin. amid a stronger women’s field, Jo Konta is reunited this week with French coach dimitri Zavialoff, who stood down from travelling after her successful 2019 season due to an illness in his family.
TOURNAMENTS Andy Murray has withdrawn from this year: Delray Beach, the Australian Open, the Biella Challenger 2, Dubai and Miami. He has played only three events this season.