Andy Murray has conceded that his days amongtennis ' elite may be over.- The Scot was forced to withdraw from the Miami Open after suffering yet another injury setback.
- "F---ing hell, just give me a break," he said of his latest knock.
Andy Murray has conceded that his days among tennis' elite may be over after suffering yet another injury.
The Scot has won three Grand Slam titles and was long considered to be on the same level as the likes of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer. However, in recent years he has faced a number of injury setbacks which have seen him fall to 119th in the world.
The 33-year-old's issues have been mostly related to a chronic hip problem that first surfaced at Wimbledon 2017.
Murray has twice undergone surgery for the injury, limiting him to just four Grand Slam appearances since - though his absence at this year's Australian Open was due to him testing positive for COVID-19.
His latest injury, however - which came ahead of the Miami Open this week - is a "freak" groin injury which he sustained on Friday
"I woke up in the middle of the night at about 2:30, rolled over and felt like my groin was a bit sore,' said Murray of his latest knock, according to the Metro.
"When I got up at six in the morning to go to the toilet, I was in a lot of pain walking. Any time I extended my left hip and stuff, it was a struggle to put weight on it. I have no idea what happened."
"I really just want to be on the court competing. I can't be bothered doing another eight or ten weeks of rehab," added Murray. "It's hard work and now I am finding it harder to get motivated to do all the rehab and everything if I'm not going to be able to compete in the biggest events.
"That is why this one was like, f---ing hell, just give me a break for this one event so that I can compete against these guys at a big tournament and see what I am still able to do."
Asked if the injury could be a sign that his body is simply unable to cope with the physical demands of top level tennis, Murray said: "I guess it's possible that is the case. This is just a random thing that hasn't happened on the court or in the gym.
"I know as players get older, you can have issues with back spasms and things like that where you just wake up in the night and something has happened. Maybe it is just something like that.
"I really need to get a run of tournaments and competitive matches to see whether my body is capable of doing it or not because, right now, I still haven't had that opportunity. All the indications from the gym work and training suggest that I'm fine, but then I keep getting these things."
Murray, who was given a wildcard entry to the Miami Open, was set to face South African Lloyd Harris in the first round on Wednesday.
Harris will now face American Emilio Nava instead, while Murray has been replaced by Italian Federico Gaio, who received entry as lucky loser and faces Ričardas Berankis.
Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal have all also withdrawn from the tournament.