ROME: World number two Andy Murray admitted yesterday that he could miss the French Open after a long-term back injury forced him to quit the Rome Masters.
“I’d be very surprised if I was playing in Paris,” a subdued Murray said after retiring from a second-round start at the Foro Italico, handing a 6-3, 6-7 (5/7) win to Spain’s Marcel Gronollers.
Murray, who was celebrating his 26th birthday yesterday, said that pain in his lower left back, which has bothered him since late 2011, has been flaring recently, bringing on the Rome pullout.
“I felt pain today, the same as in Madrid. I took a few days off after Madrid. I hit yesterday and played some points. But I was still sore today,” added Murray, with the French Open due to start on May 26.
Murray said the back problem is the same one which required him to take a pain-killing injection last spring in order to play Roland Garros in 2012 where he reached the quarter-finals.
“We will have to wait and see on Paris. I’ll try to make a decision after the next five days or so. I need some days off for it to hopefully settle down,” added the world number two.
Murray, the US Open and Olympic champion, said he was loathe to take another injection since the one in 2012 still did not leave him feeling 100 per cent.
Having lost the first set to Granollers 6-3, he fought back from 4-1 down in the second set to win a tie-break.
But after levelling the match on his second set point, he promptly went to the net to shake hands.
Murray has not quit a match since May, 2007, in Hamburg when he suffered a wrist injury which took three months to heal.
Murray, ranked world number two behind Novak Djokovic, had been seen by the trainer for on-court hip and back treatment after the third game of the second set.
The defeat marked the second straight year in Rome that Murray, a 2011 semi-finalist, has gone out early, following a third-round exit a year ago. He came to the court with a 2-0 margin over Granollers but never looked to be on his game. Murray, who has never clinched a claycourt title, has won just three matches on the surface this season, alongside as many defeats.
“(The back) has not been perfect for a long period, I want it to start feeling good again. Everyone goes into matches with niggles, but this is very frustrating,” added Murray. Rafael Nadal began laying the groundwork for a dream seventh title as the Spanish fifth seed beat Italian Fabio Fognini 6-1, 6-3 to reach the third round.
Nadal, who has won five titles since making his return after seven months out with a knee injury, won his 32nd match of the season against just two defeats.
He can move back to fourth in the rankings should he win another Rome title.
Nadal will next play Ernests Gulbis, a 6-1, 6-1 winner over Serb Viktor Troicki.AFP
