Andy Murray will not be competing in the next Grand Slam of the season after confirming on Sunday that he will bypass the entire clay swing.
The three-time Grand Slam champion told reporters ahead of the Rotterdam Open that he had decided not to play on the surface in order to minimize the potential risk of injury. Murray said playing on the surface in previous years had made his physical issues worst. The former world No.1 plays with a metal hip after previous undergoing two surgeries on the area in order to prolong his career. He also suffered from other setbacks in recent months, including a groin injury during the Miami Open last year.
“Right now I am not planning on playing through the clay,” said Murray.
“The past couple of years, the clay has made issues worse; last year I had some issues at the beginning of the year, the clay didn’t help, so I’ve spoken to my team about that and this year while I feel good and healthy, I don’t want to take that risk.
“It’s not that I wouldn’t potentially play on clay in the future. Last year I almost missed Wimbledon, was close to not playing the grass season, I’m not planning on playing the clay. I will still try to compete a bit during that period, I won’t do nothing, that’s my plan just now.
“I had a busy end of last year and the next couple of months I won’t take any risks and hopefully get a good build up to the grass season.”
Murray reached the final of the French Open back in 2016 where he finished runner-up to Novak Djokovic. However, since then he has only made two further appearances at the Grand Slam. Reaching the semi-finals in 2017 and then losing in the first round last year when he received a wild card into the main draw.
Despite his lack of participation in Roland Garros over recent years, Murray hasn’t ruled out playing at the tournament once again in the future.
The decision by the 33-year-old comes at a time when his recent trial with coach Jan de Witt proved unsuccessful. He split from long-term mentor Jamie Delgado at the end of last season. Delgado is now working with Canada’s Denis Shapovalov.
Murray, who is currently ranked 102nd in the world, will return to action this week at the Rotterdam Open where he has received a wild card. He will be accompanied by Dani Vallverdu who will be working with him on a temporary basis. Vallverdu was a former member of Murray’s team between 2010-2014 and he will also continue working with Stan Wawrinka at the same time.
Murray is set to play Alexander Bublik in the first round at Rotterdam. Bublik won the Open Sud de France on Sunday by stunning top seed Alexander Zverev in straight sets.
