Murray out of Australian Open; Grand Slam comeback on hold

Great Britain’s Andy Murray applauds as he attends the semi-final singles tennis match between Great Britain and Spain at the Davis Cup Madrid Finals 2019 in Madrid on November 23, 2019. (Photo by OSCAR DEL POZO / AFP)

MELBOURNE, Australia — Andy Murray has put his Grand Slam comeback on hold after announcing he will not be playing at the Australian Open next month.

Tennis Australia issued a statement Sunday saying Murray had withdrawn from the season-opening major at Melbourne Park and from the ATP Cup, a new international men’s team event which starts next week and will be played in Sydney, Perth and Brisbane.

“I’ve worked so hard to get myself into a situation where I can play at the top level and I’m gutted I’m not going to be able to play in Australia in January,” Murray said in a statement. “Unfortunately I’ve had a setback recently and as a precaution, need to work through that before I get back on court competing.”

Murray had surgery on his hip to repair a career-threatening injury after his first-round, five-set loss to Roberto Bautista Agut at the Australian Open in January.

The 32-year-old Murray returned to the tour in August at Cincinnati, where he lost in the first round, and also played at seven other tournaments — including the Davis Cup in Spain last month — to finish the year with an 11-7 win-loss record.

“After the Australian Open this year, when I wasn’t sure whether I’d be able to play again, I was excited about coming back to Australia and giving my best, and that makes this even more disappointing for me,” Murray said of his latest injury setback.

Murray, a three-time major winner, has reached the Australian Open final five times but never won the title at Melbourne Park.