NEW YORK — World No. 2 Andy Murray pulled out of the US Open on Saturday, citing his ongoing hip problem as the reason.
“It’s too sore for me to win the tournament and that’s what ultimately I’m here to do,” Murray said two days before the tournament is to begin Monday. “Unfortunately, I won’t be playing here this year.”
Murray, the 2013 US Open champ, joins a growing list of high-profile names out of the tournament due to injury. No. 4 Stan Wawrinka, the defending US Open champ, No. 5 Novak Djokovic, No. 10 Kei Nishikori and No. 11 Milos Raonic all announced they wouldn’t play before the tournament began.
Per Grand Slam rules, No. 5 seed and 2014 US Open champ Marin Cilic takes Murray’s position in the draw, setting up a possible semifinal with No. 4 Alexander Zverev instead of the quarterfinal matchup they had been positioned for.
Correction: Instead of a possible Zverev/Cilic quarter they could now meet in the semis. pic.twitter.com/NjkwQ8yRnq
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) August 26, 2017
Grand Slam rules prohibit the Open from moving No. 3 seed Roger Federer into Murray’s spot, which would have set up the potential for a dream final between five-time champion Federer and No. 1 Rafael Nadal, who is seeking his third Open crown. If Murray had pulled out before Friday’s draw, Federer would have been moved to the No. 2 seed.
“It’s obviously Roger and Rafa are the biggest favorites still,” Zverev said before Murray’s announcement. “I think how the year has been going, they are still on top of everyone. But, you know, I’m just going to go match by match and hopefully I can get to those guys.”
The draw now obviously opens up big time for the 6-foot-6 Zverev, 20, to reach his first Grand Slam final, although Cilic reached the Wimbledon final this year and previously won the Open.
“I played great on the hard courts so far, won two tournaments, Montreal and Washington back to back, which are two huge events,” Zverev said. “I felt like I could compete and beat anyone during this period of time.”
Murray, 30, said the hip has been bothering him since the French Open earlier this year.
“Yeah, obviously had the issue with the hip over what’s actually been since my match with Stan in Paris,” he said. “Did pretty much everything that I could to get myself ready here and took, you know, a number of weeks off after Wimbledon. You know, I obviously spoke to a lot of hip specialists. Tried obviously resting, rehabbing, to try and get myself ready here.”
Murray said he’s uncertain of his plans for the remainder of 2017.
“I’ll definitely make a decision on that in the next few days,” he said. “That’s something that I’ll sit down and decide with my team. But I’ll decide on that in the next couple of days, for sure.”
Federer took six months off in the second half of 2016 and then came back to win the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year. Murray is hopeful he could follow a similar pattern going forward.
“Yeah, I mean, if I get myself fit and healthy, there is no reason why I can’t,” he said. “I have been practicing here and, you know, competitive in practice when I’m not moving close to how I can when I’m healthy.
“So, you know, obviously there has been a lot of players with injuries this year. Obviously Roger and Rafa last year had a few problems.”
