USO 2017 - Murray pulls out

Andy Murray has pulled out of the USO, saying his hip is still too sore. Apparently, a decision about hat will happen in the rest of the season will come later.
   Will they do parts of the draw again? Not quite sure what happens now. All told, some fairly bad news, especially as the list of those not playing has grown.

the state of this US Open

I gather Lukas Lacko comes in to the main draw but no other change, leaving a fairly lopsided draw.
   There's already one poster saying Murray should have pulled out BEFORE the draw which of course would have put Fed at the bottom of the draw as number two seed.
   Guess Murray was hoping until the last minute that he would be OK. Five of the top 11 now not playing !

Not good.

Hope Murray can get back to fitness asap.

That's the way it is in the world of sport. Just an uncanny combination of circumstances, I guess. But still four past USO Champs in the field, which I think is about average (or maybe average) for Slams these days, so the draw - even though weakened - is hardly bereft of talent and pedigree.

Pretty bizarre from Andy to pull out one day after the draw due to an injury he has been struggling with for months.

The bottom half was the weaker half already, it is now weaker still.

I just hope that the bottom half plays first as I would like to go to the USO next Saturday and I would much prefer to see the top half.

Not many guys in the bottom half that would look good in a slam final. Zverev and who else? Cilic who is carrying an injury? Tsonga who is well past his best? Or Isner, Sock? Slim pickings.

Zverev himself has never been past Rd 4 in a slam. Still, he had better make it as he is the only one in he bottom half who feels like a slam winner (unless Cilic is in better shape than I am assuming he is).

Or maybe Ferrer can make the final.

Monday's schedule is out. At least the bottom half goes first.

Each way bet on David Ferrer to make the final at around 200/1 looks extremely tempting...

Yeah, Ferrer's form has been picking up the last few weeks too.

Murray has had this injury since Wimbledon. Inconsiderate to the tournament, fans and his fellow players to pull out just after the draw. Always have sympathy for injuries but I'm struggling to think of any reason to give him a pass for the timing of this

hawkeye wrote:Murray has had this injury since Wimbledon. Inconsiderate to the tournament, fans and his fellow players to pull out just after the draw. Always have sympathy for injuries but I'm struggling to think of any reason to give him a pass for the timing of this

I'm sure you've put lots of effort into trying. The fact is that Murray turned up in NY and has been practising with the intention of playing. He's obviously very close to being ready. However, he's obviously realised over the last few days that he isn't quite there. As any player would have done, he gave himself as long as possible to see if he could play. He's then pulled out in plenty of time to give his replacement time to get ready. That isn't inconsiderate to anyone.

Nadal weighs in on Murray's withdrawal.

"I always thought that he was going to be playing if he was here practising, no?" said Nadal in reference to Murray, after beating Dusan Lajovic in the first round.
"It was a little bit strange that he retired just the morning after the draw was made.

"It was something that is a little bit strange and difficult to understand, but the worst thing is he is not healthy and I wish him a very fast recovery."

The very last remark (wishing Murray well) from Rafa was good to hear, but I'm really not so sure about his specific comments on the timing of the withdrawal itself. It's the sort of topic you'd think he might be best to just bat away, rather than get drawn into providing a tabloid-style quote.

Slightly odd comment as Rafa himself (as mentioned on the other thread) pulled out a few hours after the draw at Wimbledon 09.

Personally, I can't get excited by either Rafa's withdrawal in 2009 or Murray's here. Given Andy turned up in NY and practiced all week, I think we can assume he was intending to play but, eventually, concluded that his hip was too sore. Its the first time I've ever seen someone who was nearly in tears at having to withdraw being described as "selfish" for only concluding that he wasn't fit enough to play after the draw had been made.

Criticism of Murray re his late (and clearly reluctant) decision cannot be justified.

Missing just two Slams over a ten year spell is hardly the mark of someone who is remotely disrespectful and/or inconsiderate - whether to fellow players, or the tourney organisers / ITF.

@lags72 - I don't agree with the absolute nature of your post, nor do I think you base it on relevant points.

Criticism must not be over-stated, but there is a point that the timing is a bit odd, namely not only after the draw but very shortly after the draw when he had already had the best part of two months to focus on his readiness or not when there is no explanation that anything had changed in that very short period.  Like I say, it's not an excuse for frothing abuse, perhaps even criticism is too strong a word, but it is somewhat unfortunate in circumstances that, absent some explanation not forthcoming, he can't really say he had no choice over its handling.  That is not in any way to underplay his sense of entirely genuine regret, nor to lack sympathy with his predicament - what a sad end to his time at #1 which has not been as successful as he'd have liked or, I'd say, his career and efforts thus far merited - nor does it involve ignoring his past history of very infrequent withdrawals and playing (usually pretty well) through pain which would have floored lesser men.

I have enormous respect for Murray, I like him (probably more for his unpolished off-court persona than as a player), and this does not change that; but, just as occasionally Fed does something I'd prefer he had done differently and I am prepared to say so, as I see it, this withdrawal is in that category for Murray.

barrystar - thanks for your considered reaction to my post.

With relatively little activity (in comparison to times past) on the Forum these days, I'm perfectly happy to see balanced & well-expressed contributions that may offer a different perspective to my own. Certainly better than no contributions at all ......

I guess that ultimately this is an example of a high profile player having his behaviour/ decisions scrutinised (understandably) far more rigorously than a lesser name. You have to take the good with the bad. I'd venture that if Francisco Mulligatawny (no, I've no idea who he is either) had withdrawn with similar timing, it would have barely caught our attention. But of course Murray was a title contender, has only just dropped his World No 1 status in the sport, and the draw/seedings are thus impacted big time.

Wawrinka, Djokovic, Nishikori and Raonic withdrew before the draw came out, not after. Were they (and their teams) better at evaluating their own medical conditions?

This is mere speculation on my part, but was there a financial aspect to being in the draw, before an eventual withdrawal?

lags72 wrote:I'd venture that if Francisco Mulligatawny (no, I've no idea who he is either) had withdrawn with similar timing, it would have barely caught our attention.

I am not sure that is a good comparison though.  This is not quite like say taking fishy MTOs where whoever does it is equally guilty.  For the draw, the big names carry more responsibility, so to speak.  If Francisco had withdrawn, nobody would notice (maybe his 1st round opponent, if that) and it would not have left the draw unbalanced.

summerblues wrote:

lags72 wrote:I'd venture that if Francisco Mulligatawny (no, I've no idea who he is either) had withdrawn with similar timing, it would have barely caught our attention.

I am not sure that is a good comparison though.  This is not quite like say taking fishy MTOs where whoever does it is equally guilty.  For the draw, the big names carry more responsibility, so to speak.  If Francisco had withdrawn, nobody would notice (maybe his 1st round opponent, if that) and it would not have left the draw unbalanced.

I agree with this - top seeds benefit from draws that keep them away from other top players, and rightly so because they have earned that with their play. In turn, they should be respectful and appreciatiative of what their peers have earned in the same way that they have, and they face more of a responsibility to the other players in the draw to consider them when timing a withdrawal than those who are unseeded or seeded lower. I stress, this is a nuanced discussion. Murray's primary responsibility is to himself, and no other top player would say otherwise, but on occasions like this there is room for consideration of the rest of the players in the draw, which looks to me to have been a wee bit lacking on what we currently know.

laverfan wrote:Wawrinka, Djokovic, Nishikori and Raonic withdrew before the draw came out, not after. Were they (and their teams) better at evaluating their own medical conditions?

This is mere speculation on my part, but was there a financial aspect to being in the draw, before an eventual withdrawal?

If it is mere speculation why mention it ? I could speculate plenty on plenty things with no facts to back them up but would probably end up getting into trouble.

Calder106 wrote:

laverfan wrote:Wawrinka, Djokovic, Nishikori and Raonic withdrew before the draw came out, not after. Were they (and their teams) better at evaluating their own medical conditions?

This is mere speculation on my part, but was there a financial aspect to being in the draw, before an eventual withdrawal?

If it is mere speculation why mention it ?  I could speculate plenty on plenty things with no facts to back them up but would probably end up getting into trouble.

I understand the desire to defend Murray, but not being privy to Murray's financial information/transactions, this is the realm of speculation. Do you know if the the players who withdrew before the draw were compensated by USO vs Murray (after he withdrew from the draw)?

Does Federer have a back issue (again mere speculation)?

laverfan wrote:Does Federer have a back issue (again mere speculation)?

I think it's fairly clear he did and it messed his USO prep up.

laverfan wrote:

Calder106 wrote:

laverfan wrote:Wawrinka, Djokovic, Nishikori and Raonic withdrew before the draw came out, not after. Were they (and their teams) better at evaluating their own medical conditions?

This is mere speculation on my part, but was there a financial aspect to being in the draw, before an eventual withdrawal?

If it is mere speculation why mention it ?  I could speculate plenty on plenty things with no facts to back them up but would probably end up getting into trouble.

I understand the desire to defend Murray, but not being privy to Murray's financial information/transactions, this is the realm of speculation. Do you know if the the players who withdrew before the draw were compensated by USO vs Murray (after he withdrew from the draw)?

Does Federer have a back issue (again mere speculation)?

Where did I say anything to defend Murray ? I have no knowledge of financial arrangements other than a first round loser gets a certain amount of money (not checked what it is for US Open). Therefore as Murray withdrew I would expect he would get nothing. Surely this was the issue at Wimbledon where a number of players withdrew from live first round matches and picked up their fee for starting them.

reckoner wrote:

laverfan wrote:Does Federer have a back issue (again mere speculation)?

I think it's fairly clear he did and it messed his USO prep up.

Indeed it is clear. Seems pretty obvious, and hardly a matter for speculation.

I'm half-expecting laverfan to ask next whether Federer is a real person (again mere speculation .... )

Has anyone ever seen laverfan and Federer in the same room at the same time?

JuliusHMarx wrote:Has anyone ever seen laverfan and Federer in the same room at the same time?

Now that you mention it ...... No.

The plot really does thicken.

PS : only speaking for myself. Can't speculate as to the experiences of others.

lags72 wrote:

reckoner wrote:

laverfan wrote:Does Federer have a back issue (again mere speculation)?

I think it's fairly clear he did and it messed his USO prep up.

Indeed it is clear. Seems pretty obvious, and hardly a matter for speculation.

I'm half-expecting laverfan to ask next whether Federer is a real person (again mere speculation .... )

The way he played Youzhny, it was a very weak impersonation.

Calder106 wrote:

laverfan wrote:

Calder106 wrote:

laverfan wrote:Wawrinka, Djokovic, Nishikori and Raonic withdrew before the draw came out, not after. Were they (and their teams) better at evaluating their own medical conditions?

This is mere speculation on my part, but was there a financial aspect to being in the draw, before an eventual withdrawal?

If it is mere speculation why mention it ?  I could speculate plenty on plenty things with no facts to back them up but would probably end up getting into trouble.

I understand the desire to defend Murray, but not being privy to Murray's financial information/transactions, this is the realm of speculation. Do you know if the the players who withdrew before the draw were compensated by USO vs Murray (after he withdrew from the draw)?

Does Federer have a back issue (again mere speculation)?

Where did I say anything to defend Murray ? I have no knowledge of financial arrangements other than a first round loser gets a certain amount of money (not checked what it is for US Open). Therefore as Murray withdrew I would expect he would get nothing. Surely this was the issue at Wimbledon where a number of players withdrew from live first round matches and picked up their fee for starting them.

No worries, Calder106. The upsets in the bottom half make much more of a difference to USO2017 than Murray's withdrawal. Cilic just fell to Schwartzman. I am happy to see the established order get shaken up a bit. Shapovalov is the New Hope a la Star Wars.

lags72 wrote:

reckoner wrote:

laverfan wrote:Does Federer have a back issue (again mere speculation)?

I think it's fairly clear he did and it messed his USO prep up.

Indeed it is clear. Seems pretty obvious, and hardly a matter for speculation.