The 2018 Wimbledon Championships could be without two of its past men’s singles winners after Andy Murray pulled out of a warm-up tournament and Novak Djokovic cast doubts over his grass-court summer plans.
British No.2 Murray, the champion in 2013 and 2016, was expected to make a comeback this month at the Libema Open grass-court event in ’s-Hertogenbosch in Holland. But the BBC reports that the 31-year-old, who had hip surgery in January, has delayed his return.
Although he’ll miss the event in the Netherlands, Murray is still hopeful of playing Wimbledon, which starts on 2 July.
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He said: “I am not quite ready to return. I am still aiming to play in the coming weeks, but I want to be 100% when I do return. It is with regret that I won’t be ready to play in s’Hertogenbosch. I was excited to play there for the first time.”
Murray faces “a race against time to be fit”, Sky Sports reports. In an interview with the broadcaster, the former world No 1 said his recovery had been “very slow”.
Djokovic: I’m not thinking about tennis
Serbian star Djokovic is also a doubt for this year’s championships after he suffered a shock quarter-final defeat at the French Open yesterday against world No.72 Marco Cecchinato.
Speaking after his defeat in Paris, the three-time Wimbledon winner was asked in the post-match press conference if he’ll play on grass this year.
He replied: “I don’t know what I’m going to do. I just came from the court. Sorry, guys, I can’t give you that answer... I’m just not thinking about tennis at the moment.”
2018 Wimbledon Championships
- When: 2-15 July
- Where: All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Wimbledon, London
- Official website: wimbledon.com
