Tired Andy Murray Withdraws From Rome

Withdrew from Canada 2012…I don’t remember who won Cincinnati that year, but I sure remember who won USO !

May 14th, 2015 at 9:50 am

Smart move, listen to your body, if you feel you can’t play don’t.

And good because he doesn’t hamper his momentum going into French and wait to see what will happen this week and his draw there.

Now things get easier for Djoko, at least on paper not a potentially 2 sets tiebreak 2 hours versus Andy in semis.

Have to go throughhis business and beat Bellucci, Kei and Goffin / Ferrer. Very doeable form him before finals

May 14th, 2015 at 9:57 am

Oh duh. Federer won Wimbledon and Cincinnati!

I like Federer very much, but I forget he won Wimbledon in 2012. But then, thought for sure he was done in 2013.

Anyways…2012 was a great year for Andy Murray too. Smart to pull out of Rome.

May 14th, 2015 at 10:01 am

I don’t like this move at all. Disrespectful to fans and organizers. Its one thing if you’re injured, its another to say, well, nothing wrong but I’m tired so I might get injured. If he didn’t expect to be up for it he could have pulled out before the tournament.
Follow through on your commitments. Basic life rule.
I’ve really never heard of this in athletics before.

As always, I’m open to changing my mind, but it seems to me there’s a big difference between pulling out before a tournament, pulling out with an injury, and pulling out before a match because you don’t feel like playing.

May 14th, 2015 at 10:18 am

^agree with you there TV.

May 14th, 2015 at 10:35 am

it’s mainly too bad for chardy. andy knew he was tired before he even went to rome, and it was public knowledge that he thinking of not playing the event, but then he decided to go for it, played just the one match, and won quite handily. better he had not played at all and chardy – or some lucky person – would’ve had a chance to go on, get some money, etc. and andy would’ve had even more time to rest, less flights, and so forth. oh well, what’s done is done. goffin benefits because he had a tough, long match last round.

May 14th, 2015 at 10:40 am

Glad TX opened a separate thread on Murphy’s withdrawal. I am not the only one critical of his move. Not cool Murphy not cool.

May 14th, 2015 at 10:53 am

PS. TV sums it up best.

May 14th, 2015 at 10:54 am

@TV, generally I would agree with you, but based on the circumstances (3 matches in one day in Munich based on weather; 1am start/3am end for a match in Madrid, coming back about 12 hours later to play the next match) this is understandable. It does suck for the Rome organizers and fans, though, especially as it’s the fault of those previous tournaments.

May 14th, 2015 at 11:01 am

RZ, all that was before the event. Definitely, Murphy’s had some very bad treatment in the last two weeks.

As Jane suggests, Andy publicly debated playing with all that history and decided to do it anyway.

May 14th, 2015 at 11:11 am

Yes, all that was before. But fatigue isn’t immediate.

May 14th, 2015 at 11:28 am

He should have withdrawn Tuesday. It would be a chance for another Lucky loser to enter the main draw, which for this lower ranked players would be great, as they would use his seeding.

From Murray perspective and thinking long run is best for him but I agree with you TV, sometimes in life you have to do things you don’t want to and play with the consequences. He could have played for 1 hour and lost 1 and 2. It wouldn’t change much long picture, except for the 10 match win on clay this season.

May 14th, 2015 at 11:35 am

If a player says they’re injured and pulls out, whose to know if they’re faking or not? Meanwhile, as usual, Andy gets pilloried for being honest.
As usual those who don’t like Andy will jump on this decision with glee. Yawn. So easy to criticise. Chardy’s loss is Goffin’s gain. Swings and roundabouts.
A very wise decision in the circumstances.
And he gets to spend his birthday at home too. first time in years.Good on yer Andy!

May 14th, 2015 at 11:41 am

I guess Andy played so that he would not be fined for missing a Mandatory M1000 event.

May 14th, 2015 at 12:02 pm

margot, indeed but he’s bound to get some flack. novak won 3 masters in a row, which was done for the first time ever, and pulled out of madrid before it even started, as well as with the option to do so due to having the 600+ wins, and *still* bodo wrote an article criticizing nole about that. sheesh! i think he had the right to be tired and take some respite too.

May 14th, 2015 at 12:03 pm

“I hate quitting. But this is not quitting. It’s just making a better decision.”
SW Rome Masters.
Indeed jane, but I’d like to see some of these critics put their money where their mouths are.

May 14th, 2015 at 12:07 pm

[…] After withdrawing from Rome earlier today, Murray heads to Paris undefeated on the clay and undefeated as a married man. […]

May 14th, 2015 at 1:05 pm

Margot, I accept the challenge to put my money where my mouth is. Get me a match with Goffin!

May 14th, 2015 at 1:59 pm

TV: Goffin????????????? Heck no! Andy’s heard you dissed him and HE wants a match. Needs a bit of a rest first, is that OK?

May 14th, 2015 at 2:40 pm

I withdraw.

May 14th, 2015 at 3:42 pm

I do like the idea that Goffin wouldn’t be up to the challenge!

May 14th, 2015 at 3:44 pm

I can see some of the points the critics of Murrays’s decision make here and the reason need not necessarily be due to “dislike”. I actually wanted Murray to go to Rome and do exactly what he did i.e. see if his body allowed him to proceed further. He seems fit as a fiddle and it was worth trying given some of the momentum he had. The Chardy match showed that it wasn’t all that bad and Murray must have taken a somewhat calculated risk of taking it one match at a time. Obviously, it didn’t work eventually. Sometimes, things hit you suddenly and you are compelled to reconsider your plans. Remember, we were talking about a possible fatigue issue at Madrid itself after the tough scheduling/weather luck at Munich. However, Murray carried on regardless and reaped handsome rewards. The altitude suits his game more as compared to Rome and he probably wanted to test himself against the best in the more normal clay conditions in Rome. It would have shown his real standing with respect to his RG prospects. I like Murray a lot but that is not the reason I am defending his decision. I am convinced it was well worth the gamble. It didn’t pay off but that is the way the cookie crumbles sometimes.

May 14th, 2015 at 5:31 pm

It was obvious and evident that Murray cant last long on clay, he is not in the same level with the likes of Nadal, Federer and Djokovic. Like I always said, in the last 10 years, 3 and a half men dominated the tour. Murray is the best of the “worst”. This why with 28 he never take the number 1 spot. He still has one more chance but he will to win two slams, three more masters 1000 and be in the last stages of the tournament if he wants to outplayed Djokovic in the ranking.

Back to the topic, remember Nadal Federer classic 9 years ago, the final was best of five sets back then, a match with 5 grueling hours and the spaniard and the swiss withdraw from Hamburg. Wise decision and at the same respectful for their colleagues. On contrary, Murray shouldnt have played in Rome. Very disrepectful for the tournament and players who want to see the main protagonists in full form and not with the head in some other place. I agree with tennisvagabond. Murray fans, you have to acept the truth and this was a bad decision for him and his team.

May 15th, 2015 at 12:06 am

The thing is, he had to test his skills at Rome because it is closer to RG than Madrid. He had no choice, he was in a no win situation, had Madrid been similar to RG then I doubt he would have played. Give the guy a break.

May 15th, 2015 at 12:33 am

Bertie, Why he decided to play in Munich and Madrid and not play two consecutive Masters 1000?
Rome is a classic tournament and the conditions are similar to RG and the top players he will face
in Paris are in Rome.

May 15th, 2015 at 12:50 am

@Matador
Have another lemon do.

May 15th, 2015 at 1:00 am

^ And next time you play 11 matches in 9 days do let us know if you feel tired or not.
You had a real “go” at Andy when he lost to Nole, now you’re having a real “go” at Andy cos he just beat Rafa,
What a surprise, not.

May 15th, 2015 at 1:06 am

Margot, I dont know the slang you used but when you discuss with facts and arguments then we can talk, Dont do a Murray, be less cynical and more educated, follow the Queen modals.

May 15th, 2015 at 1:08 am

^ROFL

May 15th, 2015 at 1:48 am

Sod’s law – you’re criticised if you do and criticised if you don’t…

May 15th, 2015 at 4:47 am

Man was fatigued, he withdrew. What’s wrong with that ?

People withdraw due to injuries all the time. There are many injuries you can continue to play with so why don’t they ? To prevent future damage to themselves and their tennis prospects.

Same argument here. Murray tried his best, and realized playing on would have negative future effects for him. So, he withdrew. How is that different ?

Bad luck for the tournament and fans, but it happens.

May 15th, 2015 at 4:59 am

The guy has put his body on the line for last few days already. I thought he would be gone by the quarters in Madrid, but he was resilient enough to fight against the odds and win the title. I’m happy he withdrew, it gives him a better chance in the FO. He looks to be the guy to beat along with Novak and Rafa.

May 15th, 2015 at 6:57 am

What’s the rule? Fatigue is not conisidered an injury, is it? And anyway, tennis has the worst rules in all of sports and the way they are implemented is even worse.

May 15th, 2015 at 8:09 am