As expected, Andy Murray officially withdrew from the Australian Open on Thursday. Murray’s participation in 2018’s first Grand Slam was cast into serious doubt last weekend when he pulled out of the Brisbane International and made an emotional post on his social media channels.
“Sadly I won’t be playing in Melbourne this year, as I am not yet ready to compete,” Murray said on Thursday. “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.”
That may be wishful thinking based on the former world No. 1’s post when he withdrew from Brisbane.
“Hey everyone..,” Murray wrote. “Just wanted to write a little message on here for anyone interested in what [I’m] going through right now. Firstly I want to [apologize] to @brisbanetennis for withdrawing at late notice and to everyone who wanted to come along to watch me play(or lose). The [organizers] couldn’t have been more understanding and supportive and I’ll always remember that. Thank you.
“I’ve obviously been going through a really difficult period with my hip for a long time and have sought counsel from a number of hip specialists. Having been recommended to treat my hip conservatively since the US Open, I have done everything asked of me from a rehab perspective and worked extremely hard to try to get back on the court competing.
“Having played practice sets here in Brisbane with some top players, unfortunately this hasn’t worked yet to get me to the level I would like, so I have to reassess my options. Obviously continuing rehab is one option and giving my hip more time to recover. Surgery is also an option but the chances of a successful outcome are not as high as I would like, which has made this my secondary option, and my hope has been to avoid that. However, this is something I may have to consider, but let’s hope not.”
“I choose this pic as the little kid inside me just wants to play tennis and Compete.. I genuinely miss it so much and i would give anything to be back out there. I didn’t [realize] until these last few months just how much I love this game.”
who’s next?
Djoker