WIMBLEDON — Andy Murray says that he will make a decision on playing the Wimbledon singles tournament for a final time on Monday evening, as he seeks to give himself the maximum possible recovery time from last weekend’s surgery on his back.
At a press conference at the All England Lawn Tennis Club on Sunday afternoon, Murray said “I don’t know if it (the operation) is gonna be enough. I don’t have have 100 per cent feeling and sensation in my leg yet, but it’s getting better.
“I’m hoping that with each day that passes that the likelihood of me being able to play will increase.
“I’m going to play another set again tomorrow. I’m doing some physical testing in the morning to see sort of how far off I am. Then I will probably make a decision tomorrow evening after that.”
Murray had a procedure to remove a spinal cyst last Saturday, after being forced to retire injured five games in to his match at Queen’s Club against Australian Jordan Thompson. The cyst had affected Murray’s coordination and feeling before he even stepped onto court against Thompson, with the Scot saying afterwards that he regretted starting the match at all.
Murray, the two-time Wimbledon champion, has been drawn against rising Czech talent Tomas Machac in the first round, with their match scheduled for Tuesday. If Murray does withdraw from the singles tournament, he may still participate in the doubles with his brother, Jamie, in what would be their first Grand Slam tournament as a doubles pair.
Earlier this week, Murray reaffirmed that the Olympics is likely to be his farewell to tennis, but added that were this injury to keep him out of both Wimbledon and the Games in Paris later in July, he would consider playing another tournament to wave goodbye to the sport on the court.
On Sunday, he reiterated that he has no plans to return to Wimbledon as a player, which is what drives his desire to have one last hurrah.
“I just want the opportunity to play one more time out there hopefully on Centre Court, and I don’t know, feel that buzz,” he said.
“Everyone has their idea of how they want to finish their career, how they would want it to go. I probably would have seen that happening at Wimbledon.”
The Wimbledon singles tournaments begin Monday, July 1.
— Charlie Eccleshare contributed reporting.
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