Andy Murray withdraws from Wimbledon as tournament officials forced into drastic change
Andy Murray has withdrawn from Wimbledon
REUTERS
Wimbledon officials have been forced to alter their schedule for the second day of the tournament after Andy Murray withdrew from his scheduled match against Tomas Machac.
The three-time major champion has strongly indicated this will be his last Wimbledon Championships before retiring from the sport.
But his plans suffered a huge blow after he sustained an injury at Queen's before undergoing spinal cyst removal surgery just last week.
He was still entered in both the singles and doubles draw for Wimbledon, but his participation in the former was still in question.
Andy Murray has withdrawn from Wimbledon
REUTERS
Murray took to the practice court on Monday for 90 minutes to hit with compatriot Kyle Edmund in an attempt to see whether he would be able to play a competitive singles match.
Speaking after he came off the court, Murray indicated he still wasn't sure if he he had 'enough to compete'.
The former world No 1 said he would speak to his team and family before making a final decision.
But he's now decided to pull out of his singles match at Wimbledon with tournament officials now forced to alter their Centre Court schedule.
He's still expected to play in the doubles alongside his brother Jamie, which gets underway on Thursday.
A spokesperson said: “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 was scheduled last on Centre Court on Tuesday, but Wimbledon officials will now have to move some matches around.
Andy Murray felt he wasn't able to be competitive in the singles draw
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David Goffin will take Murray's place as the highest-ranked player in the lucky loser spots.
Murray's likely farewell will come in Paris later this month when he takes to the court for Team GB at the Paris Olympics.
He's one of four male entrants in the singles draw for Team GB alongside Jack Draper, Cam Norrie and Dan Evans.
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Andy Murray is still set to play in the doubles
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Murray will also play in the men's doubles with Neal Skupski and Joe Salisbury forming the other British male pairing.
Katie Boulter is the sole representative in the women's singles and she will also play alongside Heather Watson in the women's doubles.