London: Andy Murray has pulled out of the singles at Wimbledon head of his first-round match against Tomas Machac, but the 37-year-old will make a farewell appearance at the Championships alongside his older brother Jamie in the doubles.
Murray underwent an operation on his back last weekend but was determined to give himself every opportunity to appear at the tournament he won twice and delayed his decision until Tuesday morning to fully assess his condition.
“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,” a statement from Murray’s team read.
The men’s doubles gets underway later in the week and the Murrays have been drawn to play Australian pair John Peers and Rinky Hijikata in the opening round. The doubles format is not as demanding physically as singles and is best-of-three sets rather than five.
Murray underwent an operation on a spinal cyst after retiring from his second-round match at Queen’s last week, with the 37-year-old unable to move freely due to back and right leg pain.
It was initially reported that Murray had been advised to have a six-week lay-off period and would miss Wimbledon, but an official statement from the 37-year-old’s camp said he had yet to make a decision and was working with his medical team ahead of the Championships.
