Andy Murray will not be withdrawing from Wimbledon before Friday’s draw as he wants to leave it as late as possible.

The three-time Grand Slam champion is recovering from procedure after suffering a cyst in his back during his second round match at Queen’s Club with Jordan Thompson.

It was reported earlier in the week that he was going to withdraw from Wimbledon.

However that was quickly denied by the Murray camp as he is focusing on his rehab programme.

Now as he made his return to the practice court yesterday, Murray has detailed his road to recovery and has insisted he will make a decision as late as possible, “The rate that I’m improving just now, if that was to continue then an extra 72 to 96 hours makes a huge difference,” Murray was quoted by The Guardian as saying.

“It’s complicated, and it’s made more complicated because I want to play at Wimbledon one more time. I want to have that opportunity to play the tournament and I know that some people might look at that and say, withdrawing from a tournament late at the last minute or something like that isn’t the right thing to do, even though it happens every single week on the tour.

“The winner of Queen’s will pull out of Eastbourne when the draw has been done and is clearly totally fit. But I feel like I deserve the opportunity to try to play there again. And I want to have that opportunity, so I’m going to give it as long as I can to see how well I recover.”

Murray was due to have a smooth transition to potential retirement with Wimbledon and the Olympics being his perfect farewell to the sport.

In addition, Murray was also due to play doubles with brother Jamie at Wimbledon this year.

Despite criticism Murray has felt like he has earned the right to withdraw as late as possible and admits should he play Wimbledon and the Olympics, that will be his final farewell to the sport, “It has been mentioned to me, ‘Are you going to withdraw before the draw at 10am on Friday?’ And I’m like, Well, no, I’m not. I’m going to wait until the last minute to see if I’m going to be able to and I’ve earned that right to do that,” Murray stated.

“This is not clear cut where I am 100% going to be ready to play or there is a 0% chance that I can play. That is the situation. I would say it’s probably more likely that I’m not able to play singles right now. I’m also f****** doing rehab 24/7 to try to give myself that opportunity to play there again.

“I know that there’s more important things in the world than how I finish playing my last tennis match or where I finished playing my last tennis match. But because of what I put into the sport over the last however many years, I would at least like to go out playing a proper match where I’m at least competitive, not what happened at Queen’s.

“So I can’t say for sure that if I wasn’t able to play at Wimbledon, and I didn’t recover in time to play at the Olympics that I wouldn’t consider trying to play another tournament somewhere. But if I’m able to play at Wimbledon and if I’m able to play at the Olympics, that’s most likely going to be it.”

Wimbledon starts on the 1st of July and the Olympics begins on the 27th of July.

Czech teenager Jakub Mensik rallied from one set down to beat Fabio Fognini 4-6 6-3 7-5 at the Mallorca Championships earning his second consecutive three-set win. One day earlier Mensik became the youngest match winner in tournament history with his win over defending champion Christopher Eubanks. 

Mensik hit 11 aces and won 80% of his first serve points. 

Mensik broke in the fourth game to take a 4-1 lead in the first set. Fognini won five consecutive games with two breaks of serve to win the first set 6-4. 

Mensik earned a break in the second game to seal the second set 6-3. 

Both players traded breaks in the fifth and sixth games to draw level to 3-3. Mensik earned his decisive break in the 11^th game to seal the third set 7-5. 

“It was a crazy match from the beginning. The first 40 minutes, we  played three games. I don’t know what happened. I did not experience this before. I am really happy that I kept playing after the first set that I was 4-1 up and I still lost. I am really happy that I came back. It was a tough match. Fabio played really well. It was difficult from the beginning”, said Mensik.  

Mensik, who is second in the ATP Next Gen Live Race to Jeddah, set up a quarter final match against Alejandro Tabilo, who beat Alejandro Tabilo, who beat Alexander Schevchenko 6-3 6-2. 

Ben Shelton cruised past Rinki Hijikata 6-4 6-0 to win his first match of the season on grass and his third overall on this surface. Shelton saved all six break points he faced. 

“It was a really fun match today. I am happy to be back in Mallorca. I love playing here. I had a really tough first match here last year, losing 7-6 in the third set to eventual champion Christopher Eubanks, so I am really happy to get my first win here. I am really pleased with how I played today. I am getting used to grass day by day”, said Shelton. 

Shelton set up a quarter final match against Bitish qualifier Paul Judd, who beat Australia’s Adam Walton 6-0 6-3 to advance to his first quarter final at ATP Tour level. 

Emma Raducanu is finding the positives as she looks forward to a big next few weeks.

The former US Open champion is preparing to play Wimbledon for the first time in two years.

Last year, Raducanu was undergoing multiple wrist surgeries but now the Brit returns to her home Grand Slam.

In an exclusive interview with Porsche Raducanu described Wimbledon as ‘Pristine’ as she prepares for a big two weeks at SW19, “I’m looking forward to competing at Wimbledon this year,” Raducanu explained.

“Obviously, Wimbledon is Wimbledon, and that speaks for itself, but I’m most looking forward to the stage which I missed last year and now I’m looking forward to coming back and being in a better place than I was in 2022!

“For me, it’s always about the rich history and traditions, like the pristine grass courts and iconic white dress code. It’s always the tournament that every player dreams of winning.

“The courts at Wimbledon are obviously pristine and look beautiful. The aesthetics and tradition that come with the tournament are unparalleled. Being a British player at Wimbledon is incredible, the atmosphere is hard to put into words.

“I particularly love court 1 because I feel the fans get more involved, that coupled with everything else that Wimbledon brings gives you extra motivation to perform well.”

Heading into Wimbledon, Raducanu enters the tournament with a semi-final in Nottingham and is now prepared to play in Eastbourne for the first time.

Ahead of Eastbourne, Raducanu admitted she is finding the positives in her preparation and is looking forward to her experience in Eastbourne, “Preparation has been going well thanks. I have had a good last few days training in London before Eastbourne this week so excited to get going,” Raducanu stated.

“Yes, I took a lot of positives from Nottingham. I performed well, and it showed me that my game is strong on the grass, so yes, it’s given me positivity heading into Wimbledon. Most importantly for me though at Wimbledon I feel in a place where I’m in love with the sport. Whatever happens this Wimbledon, I have full belief in myself for the years to come too.

“I’ve never played in Eastbourne, it’s on the water which I like, minus the wind maybe and it’s another home tournament where I get to play in front of a home crowd! That’s the best part.”

Raducanu will face fellow Grand Slam champion Sloane Stephens in a blockbuster opening round match on Tuesday.