Andy Murray details schedule plans as he’s set to skip tournament after Indian Wells loss
Andy Murray says he's in the 'bad books' after losing ring
We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info
Andy Murray has outlined his plans to skip the Davis Cup Finals after losing to Alexander Zverev at the Indian Wells Masters. The German defeated Murray 6-4 7-6 (7-4) to advance to the last-16 on Tuesday night.
Murray has been performing well recently, competing with Zverev at the BNP Paribas Open as well as taking Stefanos Tsitsipas to five sets in the first round of the US Open.
However, the Scot is not confident his play has been good enough to warrant a spot in captain Leon Smith’s Great Britain squad.
The three-time Grand Slam winner won 11 points out of a possible 12 to help his country win the Davis Cup for the first time in 79 years back in 2015.
His heroics will have to be replaced by another star as Murray confirmed he will rest up ahead of the Australian Open.
JUST IN: Thiem to get vaccinated after Djokovic Australian Open ban threat
“I don’t feel right now I would be playing,” the 34-year-old told BBC Sport.
“Obviously that would be up to Leon, but I’m not sure I deserve to play in that team.
“Cam [Norrie] and Dan [Evans] have had a great year. Liam Broady’s in and around the top 100 now and we’ve got very strong doubles as well.
“Right now, I’m not planning on playing the Davis Cup and with the late finish to it, and early departure to Australia, with my schedule between now and the end of the year, I am going to have to rest and take a break and give my body a chance to breathe.
DON’T MISS
Emma Raducanu has Andy Murray lesson to learn after Indian Wells loss
Andy Murray sends birthday message to ‘potty mouth’ wife Kim
Andy Murray ‘in the Big Four’ alongside Federer, Nadal and Djokovic
“And I want to make sure in the off season I get to spend as much time with my family as I can because I have been away from that recently and that will be case when I go to Australia as well.”
Murray suffered an injury when competing in the 2019 Davis Cup Finals in Madrid, and he was forced to miss the season curtain raiser in Melbourne.
With professional tennis forced to take a break due to the pandemic, he was unable to play again until the tours resumed the following August.
As a result, Murray feels he has earned the right to rest and avoid any health issues that could arise if he represents GB.
“I’ve given a lot to the Davis Cup, and sometimes to my own detriment physically,” he said.
“The same thing happened last time I played Davis Cup at the end of 2019. I know there was coronavirus, but I was struggling with that really up until September time the following year.”
Currently the world number 121, Murray accepted a wildcard to play in Antwerp and Vienna in the next two weeks, but admitted his schedule will ultimately depend on his fatigue.
Great Britain will play France and the Czech Republic in Innsbruck in the group stages of the Davis Cup on 27 and 28 November, but the competition does not finish in Madrid until 5 December.
The Davis Cup is pegged to finish just three weeks before players are expected to travel to Melbourne to begin quarantine ahead of the Australian Open.
The 2022 Australian Open will take place between January 17-30.
Source: Read Full Article