Two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray has pulled out of his first round match on Tuesday after being unable to return to full fitness following surgery.
The former world No.1 had been in a race against time to be fit for the tournament where he will be making his final appearance as a player. Murray recently underwent a procedure on his back to treat an issue that was affecting his right leg. Last month at Queen’s he retired from his second round match against Jordan Thompson due to the issue.
“Unfortunately, despite working incredibly hard on his recovery since his operation just over a week ago, Andy has taken the very difficult decision not to play the singles this year. As you can imagine, he is extremely disappointed but has confirmed that he will be playing in the doubles with Jamie and looks forward to competing at Wimbledon for the last time,” Murray’s management said in a statement.
Murray’s withdrawal brings an end to his singles career at Wimbledon. Since making his debut in 2005, he has won 61 out of 74 main draw matches played. In 2013 he became the first British man in 77 years to win the title before winning the trophy for a second time three years later. Overall, he has won 200 Grand Slam matches and was the eighth man in the Open Era to reach this milestone.
The 37-year-old will now focus on the doubles tournament which he will be playing alongside his brother Jamie. It is only the third time in his career that Murray has played in the men’s doubles event at Wimbledon after 2005 and 2019.
Replacing Murray in the draw will be lucky loser David Goffin who plays Tomas Machac.
