'Just give me a break!' - Andy Murray frustrated after 'demoralising' injury forces him out of Miami

Andy Murray admits it was "gutting and demoralising" to suffer another injury issue that ruled him out of this week's Miami Open.

Murray had travelled to Miami for the ATP Masters 1000 tournament only to withdraw less than 48 hours before his scheduled first-round match against Lloyd Harris due to a groin injury.

It is the latest in a growing line of setbacks for three-time Grand Slam champion Murray, who has only won one ATP Tour match this year and did not play at the Australian Open after testing positive for Covid-19.

"This one again is a tough one just because I don’t know what happened,” he told The Times.

"I was pumped to come and have the opportunity to play here. I felt good and travelled over, practised, had no issues and then this happened. It is obviously very frustrating and a bit demoralising. It’s gutting."

Murray had spoken about wanting to test himself against the best players in the world and was hopeful of getting more match practice under his belt in Miami.

However, he is now faced with the unwelcome prospect of more rehabilitation.

"I’ll just need to see what the results come back with and then speak with my team and try and come up with a plan," he said.

"I really just want to be on the court competing. I can’t be bothered doing another eight or 10 weeks of rehab.

Asked whether this could hint that he can no longer cope with the physical demands of playing top-level tennis, Murray added: “I guess it’s possible that is the case. This is just a random thing that hasn’t happened on the court or in the gym. I know as players get older, you can have issues with back spasms and things like that where you just wake up in the night and something has happened. Maybe it is just something like that.

"I really need to get a run of tournaments and competitive matches to see whether my body is capable of doing it or not because right now I still really haven’t had that opportunity. All of the indications from the gym work and training that I’m doing suggest that I’m fine, but then I keep getting these things.

"I don’t know how deep to look into this one. I guess if it keeps me out for a long time, then that’s something that I would probably think that way. But if it’s only a few days and just the timing of it has meant that I have missed the tournament, then that is just bad luck. That is nothing to do with my physical capabilities."