Andy Murray, the 37-year-old tennis player, was forced to withdraw from his Queen’s Club Championship match against Jordan Thompson due to a back injury. Murray appeared uncomfortable walking to the court before the match even began. He received treatment on his lower back from his trainer early in the round-of-16 match. Despite trying to continue playing, Murray had to retire from the match with Thompson leading 4-1.
Murray shared with reporters that he had neglected to treat the right side of his back after the French Open. Most tennis players have degenerative joints in their backs, but Murray revealed that his issues have mainly been on the left side throughout his career. However, he remains hopeful to participate in Wimbledon after some rest and treatment. Additionally, Murray has been selected to represent Great Britain at the Olympics in Paris this summer. Despite winning Wimbledon twice in the past, Murray has not advanced past the third round in the last three years. Looking ahead, Murray expressed optimism, saying, “Maybe there’s something which can be done between now and then with my right side…will have a scan tomorrow and re-check and see what can be done.”
Andy Murray, a former world number one and a three-time Grand Slam champion, recently achieved his 1,000th tour-level singles match victory by defeating Alexei Popyrin. However, Murray admitted feeling discomfort during his match on Tuesday, which only worsened during his match against Thompson. Despite hindsight, Murray expressed regret at taking the court, stating, “If it felt like that before the match, I wouldn’t have played but from my pre-match warm-up to the match court, I wish I hadn’t gone on court to be honest.”
In men’s doubles, British pair Jack Draper and Cameron Norrie were eliminated in the round of 16 in straight sets. They were defeated 6-4, 6-4 by Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Santiago Gonzalez. On the other hand, at the Birmingham Classic, Heather Watson and her partner Greet Minnen progressed to the quarterfinals of the women’s doubles tournament with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Erin Routliffe and Gabriela Dabrowski. Watson and Minnen are scheduled to compete against Miyu Kato and Zhang Shuai in the upcoming quarterfinal match on Thursday.