Murray out of Toronto Masters with abdominal strain, Sinner through to quarter-finals

Andy Murray has withdrawn ahead of his match against Jannik Sinner, citing an abdominal strain and handing the Italian a walkover into the Toronto Masters quarter-finals on Thursday night.

The former world No 1 issued a statement following the withdrawal, saying:

“I had a very similar issue last year in the tournament in Stuttgart before Wimbledon which forced me to miss the Queen’s Club tournament and I was able to play Wimbledon. It took me about 10 to 12 days before I was feeling good again.”

Murray continued, explaining:

“This is not as bad as that but obviously the danger if you compete and play on it is you make it worse. So, I’ll need to see how it develops over the coming days and hopefully feel better in a few days. I’m really sorry. Thank you.”

The Brit had been playing inspired tennis over his first two matches, defeating Lorenzo Sonego in straight sets and going the distance against Australian Max Purcell most recently. His clash against No 7 seed Sinner was hotly anticipated, and was the main event of Thursday night at the Toronto Masters.

The 36-year-old has a storied history with injury, with this abdominal strain the latest in a series of setbacks since Murray has returned to the ATP Tour after hip surgery.

Read also

Resilient Murray begins bid for US Open seeding

Tennis Majors

Jannik Sinner now moves into the quarter-finals of the Toronto Masters, where he’ll face another 36-year-old veteran in Gael Monfils. The Frenchman has been tearing his way through the draw in Toronto, defeating Christopher Eubanks, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Vukic en route to his first Masters-level quarter-final in two years.

Earlier in the tournament, Sinner had won an all-Italian clash against Matteo Berrettini, 6-4, 6-3.

Read also

Sinner remains perfect against Italians, topping Berrettini in Toronto

Tennis Majors