ANDY Murray revealed last night that he withdrew from Wimbledon because he didn’t feel capable of putting together a successful run at the tournament and didn’t want to jeopardise the positive steps he has made since beginning his comeback at Queen’s Club a fortnight ago.
The 31-year-old, who had said just 24 hours earlier that he would likely be fit to play his first-round match against Benoit Paire of France tomorrow, insisted his decision to pull out at the 11th hour was not brought on by any physical setback in practice, merely his fear that playing five-set matches so soon into his return may not be helpful to his long-term hopes of the return to the top level of the sport which he craves. He had never mentally committed to playing at SW19 in the first place.
- Andy Murray Q and A: 'I am at peace with the decision to withdraw .... I couldn't make the same mistake as last year'
While his spot in the Wimbledon draw by lucky loser Jason Jung of Chinese Taipei, Murray will start practising immediately on a hard court with a view to being ready for the US swing, starting in Washington in a month’s time. The Scot has played just three matches since limping out of Wimbledon at the quarter final stage last year but has no doubt whatsoever that he will return to the All England Club to compete in the future.
“It has been tough but I am at ease with the decision,” said Murray last night. “I am not second-guessing it and thinking: should I have played, that I should I have gone out there and see how it felt.
“I feel comfortable with the decision because it is the right one for me at this stage, long term,” he added. “If I was thinking I wouldn’t play Wimbledon again, it would be a different decision to make and obviously I would be out there and just playing to enjoy it and potentially play my last Wimbledon.
“But I want to play for a couple more years and hopefully be back competing at the top of the game and I need to bear that in mind when I am making decisions right now as well. What I didn’t want to do was to start the tournament, potentially win my first match, and then withdraw because I didn’t feel good. I didn’t feel that was the right thing to do, either.
“I'll obviously be disappointed not to be playing, but I don't have any regrets in terms of anything I've done. I've practised as much as I could, I've trained as much as I was allowed, what I've been told by my team and the medical professionals around me.”
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