Murray withdraws from Wimbledon with heavy heart

LONDON (Reuters): Two-time champion Andy Murray withdrew from Wimbledon with a “heavy heart” yesterday after saying his right hip was still not ready for the demands of a Grand Slam.

The 31-year-old Scot made a comeback last month at Queen’s Club following almost a year out with the injury that required surgery in Australia in January.

During a news conference on Saturday the former world number one sounded hopeful about his chances of being ready to face Frenchman Benoit Paire in the first round on Tuesday.

But he announced he was pulling out 24 hours later having consulted his team. It is the first time Murray has missed Wimbledon since 2007 when a wrist injury ruled him out.

“It is with a heavy heart that I’m announcing that I’ll be withdrawing from Wimbledon this year,” Murray, who ended a 77-year wait for a British men’s champion at Wimbledon when he beat Novak Djokovic in the 2013 final, said on Twitter.

“I’ve made significant progress in practice and in matches over the last 10 days, but after lengthy discussions with my team we’ve decided that playing best-of-five-set matches might be a bit too soon in the recovery process.

“We did everything we could to try and be ready in time.”