Second-ranked Andy Murray has officially announced that he won’t be participating at the Roland Garros 2013 tournament, which begins on Sunday. This marked the first time in six years that the Brit won’t be participating at a Grand Slam event.
The reason given by Murray is that he is still recuperating from a back injury.
“It’s been a really tough decision, and I love playing in Paris, but after seeking medical advice I’m not fit to compete,” he said in a statement released on Tuesday. “Apologies to the organizers and thanks to everyone for the messages of support. Now my complete focus is on getting back on the court as soon as possible.”
Murray has reached three consecutive Grand Slam finals, starting at the 2012 Wimbledon until this year’s Australian Open. He’s won one out of three (US Open 2012).
Murray has aggravated the lower back injury during his second round match at the Rome Masters last week which forced him to retire from the match and from the tournament.
Since his debut at the pro-tour in 2005, Murray has skipped two Grand Slam events – the 2007 French Open and 2007 Wimbledon due to a wrist injury.
His best finish at the Roland Garros tournament was in 2011 where he went as far as the semifinals before losing to eventual champion Rafael Nadal. Last year, he lost in the quarterfinals to David Ferrer.
With the withdrawal, number three Roger Federer will be seeded second, number four Rafael Nadal will be seeded third and number five David Ferrer gets the fourth seeding. Last year’s runner-up Novak Djokovic will be the French Open 2013 top seed.
