Andy Murray pulls out of final Wimbledon warm-up match as mum Judy admits he may not be fit to defend title
World number one struggling to overcome injury in time for start of The Championships on Monday
ANDY MURRAY'S hopes of defending his Wimbledon title next week are in major doubt after he pulled out of his final warm-up match through injury.
Murray had been due to play a game at the Hurlingham club on Friday to prove his fitness ahead of the beginning of The Championships on Monday.
But the world number one is fighting to shake of a hip injury in time to be fit to challenge for his third Wimbledon title.
Murray said: "My hip is still sore and I need to rest it today and likely tomorrow."
Mum Judy has been keeping in touch with his prepartions, but she admitted in an interview on Talksport she is unsure how his recovery has gone.
Asked if he will be ready to play on Monday, Judy said: "I don’t know, hopefully.
"He took a precaution on Tuesday of pulling out at Hurlingham, although the weather was really bad anyway.
"He’s got another four or five days now before everything kicks off, hopefully everything will be fine.
"He’s been unlucky this year with a few illnesses and an elbow injury. That doesn’t help.
"You have not got as much time to practice on the court and not as many matches as you would like.
"The tennis calendar is relentless, for the men it is 11 months."
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Murray himself has shown signs of flagging under the never-ending physical and mental strain his body is put under.
His Wimbledon preparations suffered a huge blow earlier this month when he looked tired as he suffered a shock first-round defeat to world number 90 Jordan Thompson at Queens.
And the 30-year-old has also admitted he may only have another two years left in him at the highest level in the sport.
My View - SunSport's tennis correspondent Dan King
SunSport's tennis expert gives his verdict on the fitness battle facing Britain's big hope for Wimbledon 2017.
I still think Andy Murray will walk on to Centre Court on Monday afternoon to fulfil the traditional obligation of the reigning men's champion at Wimbledon.
The feeling is that however bad the hip injury, playing there means so much to him that it would take something extraordinary to stop the world No 1 at least trying to defend his title.
But this latest setback in a difficult year makes it very hard to see Murray lasting all the way to the end of the fortnight and lifting the trophy again.
He will arrive at the All England Club with just one grass-court match under his belt - the shock first-round defeat by world No 90 Jordan Thompson at Queen''s, where he was also the defending champion.
And with only 30 competitive singles contests this year - compared to 39 before Wimbledon last year - Murray will be undercooked for his biggest event of the year.
That will make him vulnerable to an early exit, if he is fit to play. He has defied logic many times before, but to win a third SW19 title from this position, with Roger Federer and so many other rivals in better nick, would be among the greatest achievements of even his remarkable career.
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