By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, January 4, 2018
Five-time Australian Open finalist Andy Murray has joined Kei Nishikori in withdrawing from the Australian Open.
Photo credit: Brisbane International
Andy Murray's Australian Open is over before it began.
The former world No. 1 officially withdrew from the Australian Open, due to his ongoing hip injury, which has prevented him from playing a Tour-level match since losing to Sam Querrey in the Wimbledon quarterfinals last July.
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The withdrawal ends Murray's streak of 12 consecutive appearances at Melbourne Park and marks the second straight major he's missed.
Murray joins Kei Nishikori in withdrawing from the Australian Open, which starts on January 15th.
The 30-year-old Scot pulled out of the US Open in August.
"Sadly, I won't be playing in Melbourne this year, as I am not yet ready to compete," Murray said in a statement. "I’ll be flying home shortly to assess all the options.”
The five-time Australian Open finalist concedes surgery is an opion, though there is no guarantee that will resolve his hip issue.
"I've obviously been going through a really difficult period with my hip for a long time and have sought council from a number of hip specialists,” Murray wrote in an Instagram post. “Having been recommended to treat my hip conservatively since the US Open I have done everything asked of me from a rehab perspective and worked extremely hard to try get back on the court competing.
"Having played practice sets here in Brisbane with some top players unfortunately this hasn't worked yet to get me to the level I would like so I have to reassess my options. Obviously continuing rehab is one option and giving my hip more time to recover. Surgery is also an option but the chances of a successful outcome are not as I high as I would like which has made this my secondary option and my hope has been to avoid that. However this is something I may have to consider but let's hope not."