Andy Murray has pulled out of the Australian Open next month with injury. The Brit was hoping to play in the singles of a Grand Slam for the first time since the Australian Open a year ago.
Then, Murray was beaten by Roberto Bautista Agut in a thrilling five-set clash which saw the 32-year-old sign off post-match: “I’ve loved playing here over the years. It’s an amazing place to play tennis. If this was my last match then an amazing way to end.”
And the Glaswegian will not return this year, pulling out of both Melbourne and the preceding inaugural ATP Cup due to a pelvic problem.
He said: “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.
“After the AO this year, when I wasn’t 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, need to work through that before I get back on court competing.”
World No 87 Murray – who has never won the Australian Open – suffered the injury at the Davis Cup, where he missed three matches due to a bruise on the bone.
Great Britain lost to Rafael Nadal’s Spain in the semi-finals in his absence in Madrid, after Murray had defeated Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor in the opening group match.
The three-time Grand Slam champion was set to jet out Down Under in the coming days but the injury has not sufficiently cleared up for him to be able to participate.
Murray had to cancel his plans to fly out to Miami for a two-week pre-season training block earlier this month and has only returned to the practice court in the last week.
That has led the former world No 1 and his team to decide for him not to partake in either the Australian Open or the ATP Cup.
Instead, Murray will remain in the UK to continue building up his fitness in the hope that he can return in February.
He could see him feature at the Open Sud de France in Montpellier, which begins on February 2, or the Rotterdam Open in the Netherlands the falling week.
Murray, a two-time Olympic gold medallist, feared his career was over in Australia just 12 months ago in a tearful press conference.
He underwent a second surgery shortly after that but Murray was back on court at the Queen’s Club Championships in the summer, where he won the doubles event alongside Feliciano Lopez.
Murray was then beaten in the first round of the doubles at Eastbourne and made the round of 16 in the mixed Wimbledon doubles alongside Serena Williams.
Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley said: “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,”
“Andy’s last match at the Australian Open was a five-set roller coaster that none of us who witnessed it will ever forget.
“His determination and iron will was on display for all to see, and 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 all the very best for his recovery and look forward to seeing him back on court very soon.”
After flying across the Atlantic, Murray was dumped out of the quarter-finals of the Washington Open, when he played with his brother Jamie. Back alongside Lopez, he won one match at the Canadian Open and then two at the Cincinnati Masters.
Murray finally made his singles return at the Winston-Salem Open, losing to Tennys Sandgren, before a defeat at the hands of Matteo Viola in his first Challenger Tour event in 14 years, the Mallorca Challenger at the Rafa Nadal Academy.
He avenged his loss to Sandgren in Zhuhai before defeat to Alex De Minaur, while he lost to Dominic Thiem in the China Open quarter-finals.
After losing to Fabio Fognini in his second match at the Shanghai Masters, Murray won his first tour-level title since 2017 by overcoming Stan Wawrinka at the European Open in Antwerp in October.
The Scot was overcome with emotion and after fighting back tears declared: “This is one of the biggest wins I’ve had after everything. I am very proud of the win this week.”
That was his last action on the ATP Tour but his 2020 return will have to wait, and Murray will also miss out on the ATP Cup, the new rival event for the Davis Cup, which begins on January 3.
Tim Henman’s GB team – which was set to be comprised of Murray as well as Dan Evans and Cameron Norrie – play in Sydney against Belgium, Bulgaria and Moldova.
Murray had previously been confident when speaking about his fitness issue in November.
“I guess the good thing about stopping when I did was that it’s mild, so it shouldn’t be long,” he said of playing just once at the Davis Cup.
“But with injuries and stuff, I know not to listen to everything you’re told, like timeframe-wise or whether something’s gonna work or not.
“I kind of understand that now and I’ll just play it by ear, take the best advice I can get and see basically what happens.”
