Andy Murray addressed the Canadian Open crowd and opened up about his injury after pulling out of his match against Jannik Sinner.
Just moments before his Round of 16 clash against Sinner on Thursday, Murray took to the Centre Court to announce his withdrawal from the 2023 Canadian Open. The former World No. 1 said he was disappointed to share the news and cited abdominal injury as the reason for his decision.
“The issue is my abdominal. So, unfortunately, I am not going to be able to play this evening,” Murray said.
The three-time Canadian Open champion apologized to the crowd for ‘letting them down.’ He remarked that such instances have rarely happened in his career, and that he he felt ‘terrible’ about the situation.
“I’m really sorry. I know, I feel like I’ve let you down. Yeah. I’ve rarely been in this situation in my career. And I feel terrible,” Murray added.
Murray scored two outstanding victories to book his spot in the third round against Sinner. He dismissed Lorenzo Sonego with a bagel in the opening round before getting the better of Max Purcell in a three-set thriller in the second round.
Murray’s exit comes right at the time when he was climbing up the rankings chart. The three-time Grand Slam champion has featured in three Challenger event finals this season – Aix-en-Provence, Surbiton, and Nottingham - and emerged victorious in each. He was also the runner-up at the ATP 250 Qatar Open in February.
Thanks to his impressive results, Andy Murray has re-entered the World’s top 40 for the first time in five years. With a ranking of World No. 40 and a live ranking of World No. 36, Murray was looking to crack the top 32 at the Canadian Open in hopes of securing a seeded spot at the upcoming US Open.
It remains to be seen if the two-time Cincinnati Masters champion will compete at the upcoming Masters 1000 event in the lead-up to the final Slam of the season.
Jannik Sinner enters Canadian Open 2023 quarterfinals after Andy Murray's withdrawal
Jannik Sinner is through to his first-ever Canadian Open quarterfinal, thanks to Andy Murray’s withdrawal.
The World No. 8, who is on the hunt for his first Masters 1000 title, received a bye in the opening round. He defeated compatriot Matteo Berrettini in the second round to book his spot against Murray.
Following the Scot's walkover, the Italian will now face two-time semifinalist Gael Monfils in the quarterfinals of the Canadian Open.
Monfils, who is on a comeback trail following a seven-month injury lay-off, has looked formidable during the ongoing campaign. The French veteran has booked his final-eight spot after wins over Christopher Eubanks, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Aleksandar Vukic.