Murray pulls out of Portugal event
British number one Andy Murray has been forced to pull out of the Estoril Open in Portugal because of his ongoing back injury.The 19-year-old Scot retired from his last tournament in Monte Carlo after he picked up the injury competing in the doubles tournament with older brother Jamie.And despite expressing optimism that he would be fit enough to return in time for the Iberian tournament he has been forced to confirm his withdrawal in order to be sure of his fitness ahead of the French Open and its related warm-up events.’I've had to do [core
muscle work] the last five or six days since I hurt my back because I can’t lift any weights or do any running,’ Murray told his own website.’I'm just trying to get that stronger so I don’t have any problems with my back when I come back.’When asked which event he was targeting for his return, Murray said the Rome Masters, which begins on May 5th was ‘realistic’.'I started hitting again a little bit too soon to see if I’d be ok to play Estoril, and I felt my back again so it’s looking like I’m going to have to miss that,’ he continued.’But you know - Rome and Hamburg are the big ones before the French [Open] and I want to make sure I get ready for them.’The Paris tournament at Roland Garros begins on May 27th and Murray, who turns 20 just under two weeks beforehand, will be hoping to improve on his 2006 experience when he was knocked out in the first round by Frenchman Gael Monfils.© 2007 Adfero Ltd.