By Philip James
Marcel Granollers def Andy Murray (3) 6-3, 6-7(5) ret
Andy Murray retired hurt from his second round match at the Rome Masters today, and is a doubt for the French Open, the last major tournament before Wimbledon.
Murray battled back to one set all against Marcel Granollers, before he immediately forfeited the match, citing the hip injury which had hampered him throughout.
After the match Murray said that he would not have been able to play the next day even if he had won, and was not sure he would be fit for Roland Garros, which starts on 26th May.
The British number one, and third seed, lost the first set 6-3 to a single break and was soon behind in the second.
Breaks flowed in the second set but at 4-1 down, there seemed little chance for Murray who had already had the trainer on.
But the Scot broke twice to recover to four games all, before being broken again himself to allow the Spaniard to serve for the set.
But that was not to be the final twist as Murray broke again and eventually forced a tie-break.
As in the second set, serve seemed to count for little in the breaker as the pair traded mini-breaks before Murray strung three points together in a row to win the it 7-5 and level the match.
But Murray’s fight back was not the end of the drama as it was announced to a stunned crowd that he was retiring and thus forfeited the match.
The surprise was not that he had succumbed to the injury was not the surprise, but that he had battled back twice in the second set when all seemed lost, just to retire at the end of the tie-break.
Murray said later that he would consult with his team tonight but expected a decision in the next five days on whether or not to compete at Roland Garros.
With the likes of Nadal, Djokovic, Federer, Ferrer and Berdych on the scene, Murray’s chances of challenging for the French Open title are slim and British tennis fans could be forgiven for suggesting he focus on getting fit and ready for SW19 instead.