MURRAY WORRY
SW19 fear as Scot pulls out of his practice slots
FEARS are growing about Andy Murray’s fitness as the Scot bids to defend his Wimbledon crown next week.
The world No 1 didn’t turn up for his scheduled practice slots at the All England Club yesterday, having withdrawn from an exhibition match on Tuesday citing a sore hip.
Murray, confirmed as top seed yesterday, pulled out of a gentle hit in aid of Tim Henman’s charitable foundation. The 30-year-old, a friend of Henman, was due to enjoy a leisurely spar with financial supporters of the event. Although he did not participate on-court, he did attend in person.
Murray is said to have gone to a session of gyrotonic — a stretching technique he favours using pulleys and levers — and was later seen at Fulham FC’s ground for further treatment.
On Tuesday he pulled out of an unofficial match at the Hurlingham Club. While said by sources close to Murray to be very much a precautionary
measure, the hip is not a part of his body known to have caused many problems before. His preparations were already disrupted by an early exit from the Aegon Championships at Queen’s Club last week, and his reshuffling of his schedule in the lead-up to Wimbledon would appear to suggest all is not entirely well. The man he beat in last year’s Wimbledon final, Milos Raonic, is also said to be contending with injury and a viral illness. Murray and Raonic were, nonetheless, put in the seedings at No 1 and No 6 which, in the Canadian’s case, is a place higher than his ranking. That is due to the seeding formula Wimbledon employs, which recognises the grass court pedigree of the world’s top 32 men. Roger Federer moves from No 5 to third seed. He has made a direct switch with world No 3 Stan Wawrinka. The women’s seeding mirrors the top ten rankings, although world No 4 Serena Williams is absent due to her pregnancy. Britain’s Jo Konta has her highest Slam seeding, going into tomorrow’s draw at No 6.