Andy Murray withdraws from Dubai Tennis Championships due to hip injury and Qatar Open efforts

Andy Murray has withdrawn from the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships due to a hip injury after his run to the Qatar Open final.

The hip injury will raise eyebrows because Murray had two hip surgeries, the second of which nearly saw him retire from the sport.

“We regret to inform you that Andy Murray is unable to participate in this year’s tournament,” read a statement from tournament organisers.

“Andy has been dealing with a recurring hip injury that has unfortunately forced him out of Dubai. We wish Andy a speedy recovery and hope to see him back on the court in Dubai soon.”

Murray was set to play Hubert Hurkacz in the opening round in Dubai, but he will be replaced in the draw by Alexander Shevchenko.

Following his efforts in Doha, the three-time Grand Slam champion admitted the long matches were making him weary.

“At my age and with some of the issues that I’ve got, I do have to be mindful of those things, and I can’t just keep going until something happens,” Murray said.

“I need to be a bit smarter with that. So I’ll chat to my team and see how I feel tomorrow. I’m flying to Dubai. Then, we’ll see where we go from there.”

Dan Evans is the only other Brit in action this week at the ATP 500 event, where Novak Djokovic will make his first appearance since lifting the Australian Open title.

Andrey Rublev, Daniil Medvedev and Felix Auger-Aliassime among the contenders expected to stop the Serbian from winning this week.

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