Andy Murray men’s singles career at Wimbledon is OVER as Scot withdraws from first round clash with Tomas Machac after failing to recover in time from spinal cyst injury
Andy Murray has played his final singles match at Wimbledon after the two-time champion made the “very difficult” decision to withdraw from his first round match this morning.
A statement from the 37-year-old’s team said: ‘Despite working incredibly hard on his recovery since his surgery just over a week ago, Andy has unfortunately made the difficult decision to not compete in the singles event this year.
‘As you can imagine he is hugely disappointed but he has confirmed he will be playing doubles with Jamie and he is looking forward to competing for the last time at Wimbledon.’
That means Murray’s five-set defeat to Stefanos Tsitsipas on Centre Court in the second round last year will be his final singles match at the All England Club.
He was due to play Czech Tomas Machac, who now faces lucky loser David Goffin, the man who made Murray famous with his lob to win the Davis Cup.
Andy Murray leaves the All England Club today after withdrawing from Wimbledon singles
Andy Murray on the Wimbledon practice court yesterday as he tried to get fit for the match
Murray underwent surgery to remove a cyst in his spine after retiring from Queen’s (pictured on June 19), putting his participation in the men’s singles event at Wimbledon in jeopardy
A ground staff member removes Andy Murray’s name from a playing order board at Wimbledon today
Andy Murray’s name was removed from a Wimbledon order of play board today
Machac-Goffin has been moved from Centre Court to Court 17 and – in a symbolic moment – Jack Draper has been promoted from Court 2 to the main arena, replacing the man he hopes to replace at the pinnacle of British sport.
Murray was in a tizzy at the Queen’s Club two weeks ago when a cyst growing on his spine and pressing on a nerve suddenly immobilized his right leg.
On July 22, he underwent surgery to remove the cyst and has since fought against all odds to play one more singles match here.
The nerve pain has been decreasing each day and Murray has played a few sets in training, but on Monday it was clear that his range of motion was still significantly restricted.
Murray said at a press conference on Sunday that he wasn’t too worried about the physical effects of playing, saying the only risk was that the small wound from the laparoscopy would reopen.
Murray became the first British men’s champion since Fred Perry to lift the trophy at Wimbledon in July 2013 after beating Novak Djokovic
Andy Murray with the trophy after winning the men’s singles final at Wimbledon 2016
Britain’s Andy Murray with his Olympic gold and silver medals at Wimbledon in 2012
Andy Murray with his brother Jamie Murray (left), mother Judy Murray (center left) and wife Kim Sears (right) at the world premiere of ‘Andy Murray: Resurfacing’ in London in 2019
Andy Murray, pictured with his wife Kim at the 2016 Wimbledon Champions Dinner in London
What ultimately made him decide not to participate was probably the fear that his last match would be extremely one-sided, with him not being able to move properly around the field.
The worst-case scenario would have been a repeat of the awful scenes at Queen’s, when he played five games before retiring.
“I want to get out on the field and play at a level that I’m happy with,” Murray said Sunday during his first press conference since surgery.
“I don’t want to be in a situation like I was at Queen’s. I don’t want to go out on the court and make it uncomfortable or not be able to at least be competitive.”
Judging from what we’ve seen of him in training this week, an ‘awkward’ ending seemed entirely possible. Instead, Murray will give himself at least a few more days before his final Wimbledon doubles dance with brother Jamie – likely starting on Friday or Saturday. It’s not a bad way to say goodbye.
Murray trained yesterday afternoon but decided today that he is not fit enough
A statement from his team said Murray was “extremely disappointed” to withdraw
The decision was made as fans were streaming through the gates of the All England Club
It is undoubtedly a major setback for the tournament and for fans with Centre Court tickets who had hoped to see Murray’s final match.
The queue for Wimbledon was packed on Monday with people waiting in line for almost 24 hours to see one last time the man who has won this tournament for years.
All England Club CEO Sally Bolton said on the first morning of the Championships: ‘We would love to see him on court. If he doesn’t, we obviously have other courts, but I know the fans are desperate to see him play, so we wish him every success on court.’
Murray confirmed last week that Wimbledon and the Olympic Games will be the final events of his career.
Ahead of the tournament, and with Murray’s place in the singles tournament uncertain, John McEnroe reiterated his call for a statue to be unveiled at Wimbledon to honour the three-time Grand Slam winner’s achievements in the sport.
He returned to training this afternoon but will now concentrate on the doubles
One of the dilemmas for Murray is finding a balance between his desire to play on Centre Court again and the fact that he wants to play knowing he can win matches.
Murray explained last week that he was desperate to feel ‘the buzz’ of Centre Court again
There has long been talk of erecting a statue of the Scot on the grounds of the All England Club, where in 2013 he became the first Briton to win Wimbledon since Fred Perry in 1936. McEnroe says the right outcome is clear.
“If I had to make that decision I would say yes wholeheartedly because it’s been a long drought of 77 years,” said McEnroe, a three-time SW19 champion who will be appearing again in the BBC’s coverage this summer.
‘He has absolutely changed the way people look at British tennis. He is one of the best competitors I have ever seen play tennis.
‘It would be very deserved and great, because two of his three Grand Slam victories (2013 and 2016) came at Wimbledon and the Olympic Games (gold medal in 2012).”
‘He was one of the ‘big four’ and ended 2016 as the best player in the world.
“It’s a shame that injuries (means) you don’t hear about him in the same way as before. It’s like the ‘big three’ now.
“There’s a saying I’ve used a lot: ‘The older I get, the better I used to be.’ And unfortunately, when you have injuries, it’s pretty difficult, if not impossible, to get back to that level you were at.”