2017 US Open: Andy Murray withdraws, joins high-profile absentees
World No. 2 Andy Murray has withdrawn from the upcoming 2017 US Open, joining the likes of Novak Djokovic, Milos Raonic and Stan Wawrinka in the list of high-profile absentees. Murray will sit out of the final Grand Slam of the year to rehabilitate his hip injury.
Murray hasn't returned to action since failing to defend his Wimbledon crown. At the Championships, Murray played through the pain barrier before losing to American Sam Querrey in the quarter-final. It capped off a forgettable year for Murray, who hasn't won a ATP title since the Dubai Open.
The Scot travelled to New York but decided to pull out after a week of practice. “I did pretty much everything I could to get myself ready here, took a number of weeks off after Wimbledon, spoke to a lot of hip specialists, tried resting, rehabbing to get myself ready here and was practising OK the last few days but it’s too sore for me to win the tournament and ultimately that’s what I was here to try and do, so unfortunately I won’t be playing this year,” a teary-eyed Murray told reporters on Sunday, via The Courier Mail.
2017 US Open: Five of the Top-11 players have withdrawn...
Murray's withdrawal means five of the Top-11 players in the world will not be taking the court at Flushing Meadows. Besides Murray, the likes of Stan Wawrinka, Milos Raonic, Novak Djokovic and Kei Nishikori won't be part of the fourth and final Grand Slam of the calendar year. Wawrinka, the reigning US Open champion, won’t be defending his crown due to an injured knee.
Last year, Roger Federer sat out the last six months of the season to recover from a knee injury. The extended break has helped Federer redeem his career, with victories in two out of the three majors in 2017. Murray plans to follow Federer's example.
“If I get myself fit and healthy, there is no reason why I can’t (come back at the same level). I want to be back on court as soon as I can. If it means that I can play before the end of the year, then that’s what I would love to do. I miss competing, and I’ll try to get myself back on court as soon as I can," said Murray, who is 25-10 (win-loss record) in 2017 besides going 2-3 against fellow Top-10 players.
The 2017 US Open gets underway on Aug. 28. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are the overwhelming odds-on favourites to prevail at the last Grand Slam of the year. While Federer won the Australian Open and Wimbledon, Nadal made history at Roland Garros without dropping a set.
