Back Woes May Keep Andy Murray out of French Open
A chronic back problem, exacerbated by a punishing court clay in Milan, has caused English tennis pro Andy Murray to rethink his chances of taking part in the upcoming French Open tournament.
During his match in Rome against Marcel Gronollers on Wednesday, Murray was forced to withdraw before the end – only the second time in his prestigious career that he has done so.
In a statement soon after his retirement in Rome, Murray said:
“I pulled out because there was a good chance I wouldn’t be playing tomorrow even if I was able to get through. I might have to wait and see on Paris. But I’d be very surprised if I was playing in Paris.”
“I have an issue with my lower back that I will try and get sorted in the coming weeks. But it’s been an issue for a while now. I want to make sure it goes away and doesn’t become something that I’m playing with for a long, long time. It’s not enjoyable when you’re playing in pain, all the players will tell you that.”
Murray said that playing on clay only worsens his problems. “When it’s a back issue, rotation tends to be the problem,” he explained. “And on the clay the ball comes through a lot slower, so to generate power you have to rotate more.”
Last year, Murray also left Rome after losing to Richard Gasquet, suffering from serious back problems. He then underwent a series of painkilling injections which helped him reach the quarter finals of the French Open 2012. However, it is not sure whether the pain is worse this time around and if it has finally taken its toll on Murray’s body.
“When you have the injections, they can help a bit with the pain and take some of the inflammation away,” Murray said. “But that also didn’t make me feel 100 per cent and I want to feel 100 per cent. I’ll speak to the guys tonight and chat with the physio and come up with a plan for the next few days. I’ll make a decision on Paris after the next five days I would have thought. I’ll obviously need to take some days off and see how it settles down. But a few days didn’t really make a difference this time so we’ll have to wait and see.”
