Murray Misses the Australian Open

    Andy Murray at the Brisbane International Brisbane International, Queensland Tennis Centre in December 2017
    Andy Murray at the Brisbane International in December 2017. Photo by Mike Frey/BPI/REX/Shutterstock (9304124d)

    British tennis player, Andy Murray announced that he is going to withdraw from the first Grand Slam of the year, Australian Open.

    “Sadly I won’t be playing in Melbourne this year, as I am not yet ready to compete,” said Murray. “I’ll be flying home shortly to assess all the options but I appreciate all the messages of support and I hope to be back playing soon.”

    The British player was very disappointed to miss the Aussie Open because this is one of the tournaments where he didn’t win a title, despite playing in the finals five times. His overall record here is 48-12.

    Murray hasn’t competed since the last July. That happened in Wimbledon’s quarterfinals, where he got eliminated to Sam Querrey. Many fans, however, were hoping that the former No.1 is going to be ready for this tournament.

    His hip injury is something very problematic and it appears that three-time Grand Slam champion just can’t recover properly. Because of the absence from the court, his ranking dropped significantly, and at the moment, he occupies 16th place in the ATP standings.

    Murray said that the extent of the rehabilitation is primary thing. Surgery is also, one of the options, but the chances for recovery after that are not high as he would have wanted, and for now, that remains the second option.