Murray out of French Open

Players Under the Microscope / Editor / 23 May 2007 / Leave a Comment

Andy Murray has ruled himself out of the French Open - and will not be rushed into making a decision about his chances of making Wimbledon.

The 19-year-old Scot suffered a wrist injury in the Hamburg Masters last week and will not be ready for Roland Garros, for which Spain's clay-court specialist, Rafael Nadal, and Swiss star, Roger Federer, are the 1.75 and 3.55 leaders respectively in Betfair's outright winner market.

Murray told his official website: "I saw the doctor yesterday and as I expected I'm going to have to withdraw.
"The good news is I got the cast off and will start treatment tomorrow and take it day by day."

Murray will continue to wear a cast until the inflammation has calmed down and will seek further medical advice next week before making a decision on his availability for the upcoming grass-court season.

Wimbledon gets underway on 25 June, with Murray due to play at the Stella Artois tournament at Queen's from 11 June.
But he added: "I'm not going to make any decisions on the grass yet.

"I'm going to see the doctor in a week to see how it feels, and how much the inflammation has settled.

"One real positive from the injury is that I can get in the gym six days a week and work on my cardio and my leg strength."
News of the world number 11's withdrawal comes after the new number 10, Tommy Haas, also pulled out of the Paris tournament with an injured right shoulder.

Nadal heads into the event chasing his third successive title in France but knows his biggest challenge will come from Federer, who beat the Spain star 2-6 6-2 6-0 in the Hamburg Masters final.

Nadal beat Federer in the 2006 French Open final and punters cannot see a way past the two going head-to-head again, as reflected in a developing winner w/o Nadal and Federer market.

Nadal is trading at 1.32 to reach his fifth final this year in an emerging to reach the final market, with Federer available at 1.54, while 'no' is the 1.53 favourite in the new winner market, with 'yes' the 2.2 option.