Murray’s Wimbledon shock Former champion withdraws on eve of tournament
Scot wants to protect recent fitness progress ‘If I played five sets, how was I going to feel?’
Andy Murray’s haphazard progress around the world’s great tennis venues continued yesterday as he pulled out of Wimbledon at the 11th hour, announcing that he was not ready for best-of-five set tennis after all.
This is the third time in a year that Murray has shown up for a grand slam and failed to compete, even if the decision in Australia came significantly earlier than it had in New York – where he knocked the draw out of kilter by pulling out less than 48 hours before the start – and now here in London.
In other words, Murray has almost completed the calendar grand-slam of pull-outs. At least he is not seeded at Wimbledon, and thus the only knock-on effect will be a call-up for a so-called “lucky loser” from qualifying.
But the list of last-minute withdrawals cannot help but make Murray look like a dreamer. Throughout this year, he has set unrealistic targets, with the most costly being the two Challenger tournaments that he asked the Lawn Tennis Association to stage in May. They cost a minimum of £300,000, and he was not even in the picture when it came to participating.
Speaking to reporters yesterday, Murray emphasised that: “I didn’t have any setbacks in practice. I didn’t come off a particular training session and feel bad. But I was thinking, if I played a five-set match and it was four hours, how am I going to feel? Nobody can guarantee that I’m going to wake up and feel great.
“What I didn’t want to do was to start the tournament, potentially win my first match, and then withdraw because I didn’t feel good. I didn’t feel that was the right thing to do, either.
“This morning I spoke with all of my team and my doctor [Dr Bryan English], as well, just to get his view on things. We were trying to get in touch last night but my doctor wasn’t quite able to. I went through a similar situation last year when I went into Wimbledon. I didn’t feel good before Wimbledon last year but decided to play. I know how that ended up.
“There was a bit of that in the
back of my mind as well, thinking like: ‘Let’s sure make sure I don’t make a mistake.’
“I’ve made progress in the last month which hadn’t really been the case for the last 10 or 11 months,” he added. “I was going in the right direction.
“I would be putting myself in a situation that I haven’t been able to replicate in training or in practice recently.”
When play starts in SW19 this morning, Murray will be switching his thoughts to the hard-court season, where he has entered the Citi Open in Washington at the end of this month. It will clearly be a strange feeling for this two-time Wimbledon champion, but Murray stated yesterday that he is clear in his mind and has no regrets about the way he handled the grass-court season.
“At some stage, I needed to get back on the match court to see how my body felt,” said Murray. “I feel that grass is quite good for my body and points are generally shorter. And I view the last couple of weeks very positively.
“I didn’t decide when I was going to play at Queen’s that that meant that I was going to also play at Wimbledon. All the discussions I had with my team were about taking it day by day, and just see where I’m at.
“I don’t have any regrets in terms of anything I’ve done. I’ve practised as much as I could, I’ve trained as much as I was allowed, what I’ve been told by my team and the medical professionals around me.
“I’ve got used to it over the last year, watching tennis and stuff. A lot of my friends are involved in the sport. I still stay in contact with them when I’m not playing. I’ll be disappointed not to play, and it’s a shame because obviously I love playing at Wimbledon. I’ve watched Wimbledon in the past on the TV, like after I’ve lost, and, yeah, it’s tough. But I’ll be all right.”
This is not a sign that Murray feels retirement is about to be forced upon him by his chronic hip injury. Quite the reverse, in fact. As he explained yesterday, he would have entered Wimbledon for sentimental reasons if he felt that he would not be back again next year.
“If I was thinking I would not play Wimbledon again, it would be a different decision to make and obviously I would be out there and just playing to enjoy it and potentially play my last Wimbledon. But I want to play for a couple more years and hopefully be back competing at the top of the game and I need to bear that in mind when I am making decisions right now as well.”
Murray’s withdrawal means that the burden of British expectation, on the men’s side at least, will fall heavily on Kyle Edmund, the world No 18. Edmund, who will play Australian qualifier Alex Bolt tomorrow, was asked by reporters last week if he believes he can win a major.
“Yes,” was Edmund’s simple answer. “I believe my game is good enough. I know I am improving on the right track. But it is a dangerous game throwing out comments. I am 23 and the guys that are winning slams at the minute are in their 30s. There is still a long way to go.”