Murray facing fitness fight

Players Under the Microscope / Editor / 16 May 2007 / Leave a Comment

Andy Murray faces a race to be fit for the French Open after suffering a wrist injury in his match against Filippo Volandri in Hamburg.

The British number one was playing his first match since picking up a back injury in Great Britain's Davis Cup victory over Holland, but he looked in sparkling form against the Italian.

The Scot had raced to a 5-1 first-set lead but then suffered tendon damage in his right wrist while playing a forehand and had to concede the match.

No bones were broken but the 20-year-old will now have to wait for the results of a scan to determine the extent of the soft tissue damage.

The injury blow came at just the wrong time, as Murray looked right at the top of his game and seemed to be cruising to victory against a man who has already beaten Roger Federer this term.

The latest setback left the youngster frustrated, with a number of big tournaments on the horizon.

''In terms of my tennis it was the best I had hit a tennis ball since the start of my match with Nadal," he admitted.

''But I was so disappointed with the injury. I have no idea where it came from, after going a year and a half without any injuries at all I've just had a bad run, so I'm hoping this will be the last one for the rest of year.

"I'll probably have a cast on it for a few days. It's not looking great if I'm realistic but you never know," he added. "I don't know what will happen exactly - we'll probably announce something in the next few days."

Murray is now trading at 200 to win the French Open with Raphael Nadal red-hot favourite at 1.6, while Roger Federer is available at 4.6.