Andy Murray waits on scan after Queen’s injury threatens Wimbledon ‘farewell’

LONDON – Andy Murray’s hopes of bowing out from tennis at Wimbledon in July were left in severe doubt, after a back injury forced him to retire from a second-round match at Queen’s on June 19.

The Briton was set to undergo a scan after lasting a mere five games against Australian Jordan Thompson.

He was in evident pain right from his first serve, when his right leg and hip seemed to buckle underneath him.

The 37-year-old Scot had prolonged treatment after three games on his right hip, which he had replaced in 2019, right knee and lower back.

He briefly played on but eventually withdrew at 4-1 down, with the record five-time Queen’s champion receiving sympathetic applause as he waved to a crowd that included his wife and mother.

Wimbledon is now less than a fortnight away but Murray, twice a champion on the grass of the All England Club, refused to rule out one last appearance.

“During my pre-match warm-up I was pretty uncomfortable and then I walked up the stairs, just before going on the court, I didn’t have the normal strength in my right leg,” said the three-time Grand Slam winner. “Then the first two balls I hit in the warm-up, my right leg, it was so uncoordinated.

“Then, yeah, my right leg just was not working properly. In hindsight I wish I hadn’t gone on there.

“And then there is part of you that wants to go out there and see if it gets better, you know, and maybe feel better with a bit of treatment or something. But that wasn’t the case.”

The former world No. 1 has spoken of wanting to retire from his injury-plagued career either after Wimbledon or the Paris Olympics – he is a two-time gold medallist at the Games.

But pressed on whether he might now miss Wimbledon, Murray replied: “I wouldn’t know.

“Like all tennis players, we have degenerative sort of joints and stuff in the back but it’s all predominantly been left-sided for me my whole career. I have never had too many issues with the right side.

“So maybe there is something that can be done between now and then, you know, to help the right side. I will get scans and see if there’s anything that can be done.”

Another Briton, Jack Draper, is through to the quarter-finals, following a stunning 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 win over defending champion Carlos Alcaraz.

A tight first set saw Draper excel in a tiebreak to clinch it 7-3 and claim the opening set, before storming through the second to lead 5-2 with two match points on Alcaraz’s serve.

The Spaniard recovered to hold from there, but Draper then held his nerve, serving out the match for victory.

Draper became the new British No. 1 on June 17, having secured his first ATP Tour title by beating Matteo Berrettini in the Stuttgart Open final a day earlier.

Meanwhile, world No. 1 Jannik Sinner of Italy outlasted Hungarian Fabian Marozsan 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 6-3 in the second round of the Halle Open. AFP