Why is Andy Murray not playing at the 2019 US Open?
THE US Open is underway at Flushing Meadows – but Brit hero Andy Murray won’t be playing singles again this year.
All eyes were on the 2012 champion after he made a doubles comeback at Wimbledon, but the Brit star confirmed shortly after that he wouldn’t be taking up a wildcard slot in New York.
Why is Andy Murray not playing at the 2019 US Open?
TWO-TIME Wimbledon winner Murray is making his return from a potentially career-ending hip problem.
He focused his attention on the doubles tournament at SW19 this year as he continues to fight back from surgery earlier this year.
After taking most of the 2017 season off with intense pain, the Scot decided in January 2018 to go under the knife in a bid to save his career.
And after a year away from the court, he returned in the Australian Open early this year – only to drop out in tears after revealing the daily agony he had to endure.
Murray’s career looked over, but he underwent further surgery in January 2019 which has put him back on the court.
Just five months after the radical treatment, he won the Queens doubles tournament with Feliciano Lopez and went for glory alongside Serena Williams in the mixed doubles at the All England Club.
But with his injury issues still nagging away in the background, the Brit isn’t rushing his return and won’t be competing in the singles at this year’s US Open.
The Scot played his first singles match of the year in Cincinatti earlier this month, losing 6-4 6-4 to Frenchman Richard Gasquet.
And afterwards he revealed that despite coming through without any major issues, he wasn’t taking up a wildcard position at Flushing Meadows.
Murray said: “I didn’t feel I was able to make that decision before [the Gasquet match].
“I didn’t want to take the wildcard today because didn’t know how I would feel after the match.
“I also wanted to maybe wait and see how I felt after maybe playing a couple of matches and how I recover the next day.”
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Murray had been expected to play doubles again at Flushing Meadows as he continues to build up his fitness.
But he was unable to find a partner and instead the former world No 1 has taken up a wildcard spot at Winston-Salem next week.
He told the BBC: “The US Open, doubles and mixed, can be another couple of weeks that you are slowing things down.
“Because I want matches — that’s what I need right now.
“I’ve hardly played the last couple of years and, having discussed it with my team, after this week I think doubles is done for me for the time being.”