Andy Murray pulls out of Toronto moments before match sparking US Open doubt

Andy Murray pulled out of his Canadian Open match at the 11th hour on Thursday night. The Brit was due to take on seventh seed Jannik Sinner in the round-of-16 but instead took to the court to inform fans that he wouldn’t be playing. Murray revealed that he had an abdominal strain, something that will come as a concern ahead of the US Open.

Murray had made a successful return to Toronto, competing in the city for the first time since 2014. He defeated Lorenzo Sonego and Max Purcell to reach the last-16 of a Masters event for just the third time since 2017.

The world No 40 was rewarded with a chance to face Sinner and the pair were set to do battle last on the tournament’s Centre Court on Thursday night. But Murray pulled out of the match as it was due to begin and came out to apologise to the fans while the world No 8 got a walkover into the quarter-final.

“The issue is my abdominal,” Murray told the Canadian Open fans. “So unfortunately I’m not going to be able to play this evening. I’m really sorry. I know I feel like I’ve let you down. I’ve rarely been in this situation in my career and I feel terrible.”

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In a separate statement, the 36-year-old confirmed the injury was similar to one he picked up in the Stuttgart final last year. At the time, he was forced to miss playing his home tournament at Queen’s and had minimal preparations for Wimbledon. 

“I had a very similar issue last year in the tournament in Stuttgart before Wimbledon which forced me to miss the Queen’s Club tournament and I was able to play Wimbledon,” Murray said.

“It took me about 10 to 12 days before I was feeling good again. This is not as bad as that but obviously the danger if you compete and play on it is you make it worse. So, I’ll need to see how it develops over the coming days and hopefully feel better in a few days. I’m really sorry. Thank you.”

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It comes as worrying news with the US Open just over two weeks away. Even if Murray will recover in time to make it to Flushing Meadows, he could be at a disadvantage if the abdominal issue affects his pre-tournament plans.

With the Cincinnati Masters also taking place from Monday, Murray may opt to skip the tournament to continue recovering. Following his week in Toronto, he is still expected to rise around four places in the rankings and edge close to a seeded spot at the US Open.

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