Andy Murray pulls out of 2018 Brisbane International
After keeping organisers in the dark for several weeks, Andy Murray finally withdrew from the 2018 Brisbane International Tuesday due to his hip injury. Murray announced via Instagram (see below) that he was considering hip injury, which would effectively rule him out of the forthcoming Australian Open grand slam event.
Andy Murray followed in the footsteps of World No. 1 Rafael Nadal, who pulled out of the ATP 250 series event due to a knee injury. “I came here (to Brisbane) with every intention of making a strong start to the year, but sadly my team and I don’t feel that I’m where I need to be just yet to compete at the highest level,’’ he said.
“I have great memories of playing here in Brisbane and I have always enjoyed competing in front of the Queensland fans, so look forward to returning in the near future," said Murray, who was attempting to play his first tournament at the Queensland Tennis Centre since 2013.
Andy Murray could miss 2018 Australian Open
On Friday, Murray shocked the world by replacing the injured Novak Djokovic at an exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi. In his first semi-competitive tennis match since the 2017 Wimbledon, Murray looked rusty and out-of-place as he lost 2-6 in a one-set match to Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut.
After the game, Murray admitted that he a long way away from regaining his rhythm: “I felt better as it went on. I was a little bit slow at the start. Roberto is one of the best players in the world and when you haven’t competed at this level for a while it takes a long time to get back. I need to keep improving for sure.”
The Brisbane International (Jan. 1 - 8) was due to be headlined by Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Grigor Dimitrov, the reigning ATP World Tour Finals winner. However, injuries to Nadal and Murray have removed a little lustre from an annual tournament that's been held at the Queensland Tennis Centre since 2009.