Murray crestfallen at missing Australian Open

Andy Murray after losing to Fabio Fognini in the last 32 of the Shanghai Masters in October. He injured his pelvis playing for Britain in the Davis Cup last month.
Andy Murray after losing to Fabio Fognini in the last 32 of the Shanghai Masters in October. He injured his pelvis playing for Britain in the Davis Cup last month. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

LONDON • Andy Murray has admitted he is "gutted" to be missing next month's Australian Open in Melbourne after being ruled out of the first Grand Slam of the year with a pelvic injury.

The 32-year-old Scot suffered the injury playing for Britain in the Davis Cup last month and will also miss the inaugural ATP Cup team event across three Australian cities early next month.

"I've worked so hard to get myself into a situation where I can play at the top level and I'm gutted I'm not going to be able to play in Australia in January," the former world No. 1 said on Saturday night.

"After the AO (Australian Open) this year, when I was not sure whether I'd be able to play again, I was excited about coming back to Australia and giving my best and that makes this even more disappointing for me.

"Unfortunately, I've had a setback recently and as a precaution, I need to work through that before I get back on court competing."

Murray had hoped to make his return to Major action following a hip resurfacing operation in January.

But concerns over the fitness of the three-time Slam winner were raised when he cancelled a scheduled block of training in Miami.

As a result, Murray will not be at Melbourne Park, the scene of an emotional press conference in January when he suggested he might have to retire as a result of his longstanding hip injury.

Despite being less than fully fit, Murray earlier lost a gruelling five-setter to Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut and underwent surgery a fortnight later.

He started his return to action at the Queen's Club grass-court event in London in June. Four months later, he won the European Open in Antwerp - his first triumph in over two years - an indication he could still contend for major honours.

But his latest announcement means he will not play again until February at the earliest.

"I know how excited Andy was about coming back to compete in Australia in January, and how disappointed he is not to make it for 2020," said Tennis Australia chief Craig Tiley, who also praised his "determination and iron will".

"It's that fighting spirit that has driven him to come back from a potentially career-ending injury to achieve the results he has this year.

"Although we will miss him in January, we wish him the very best for his recovery and look forward to seeing him back on court soon."

The Australian Open takes place from Jan 20 to Feb 2, with the ATP Cup acting as the new men's lead-up tournament in Sydney, Perth and Brisbane for 10 days from Jan 3.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on December 30, 2019, with the headline Murray crestfallen at missing Australian Open. Subscribe