London Aug 27 (IANS) Scottish tennis star Andy Murray has become the latest top player to pull out of the US Open citing a nagging hip injury.
"I did pretty much everything that I could to get myself ready here and took a number of weeks off after Wimbledon " the three-time Grand Slam champion said on Saturday.
The 30-year-old World No.2 winner of the 2012 event is the fifth player ranked in the ATP Tour s top 11 to withdraw from Flushing Meadows after Serbian two-time champion Novak Djokovic Swiss defending champion Stan Wawrinka Japan s Kei Nishikori and Canada s Milos Raonic reports Efe.
Murray has not played since Wimbledon where he was upset in the quarter-finals by American Sam Querrey.
"I obviously spoke to a lot of hip specialists. I tried resting rehabbing to try and get myself ready here. I was actually practising OK the last few days but it s too sore for me to win the tournament and ultimately that s what I was here to try and do. Unfortunately I won t be playing here this year."
Murray appeared to have a favourable draw and his absence leaves the bottom section wide open. The US Open begins in New York on Monday.
Out of 64 players in that half Croatia s Marin Cilic -- who has taken Murray s place in the draw -- is the only player to have won a Grand Slam title: the 2014 US Open.
Spanish 15-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal and Switzerland s Roger Federer -- winner of a record 19 major titles -- are in the top half of the draw and could meet for the first time in the US Open if they both reach the semi-finals.
--IANS
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