World number four Andy Murray has reportedly turned down the opportunity to become part of the Heineken Open 2014 tournament which starts on January 6 in Auckland, New Zealand. The wildcard was instead given to New Zealand’s number one player Rubin Statham.
Tournament Director Karl Budge offered Murray the opportunity to be in Auckland and compete after the fourth-ranked player lost in the second round of the Qatar Open last week. The Doha event was Murray’s first ATP-level event since having a back surgery back in September. Budge was hoping that Murray will grab the offer in a bid to have more warm up matches prior to the Australian Open 2014 which takes place in a week’s time. Murray was a runner-up last year.
The other wildcards were granted to former eighth-ranked Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus and Jack Sock of United States.
