Andy Murray has confirmed that he will miss the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 Arena in London, which start in early November.
The reigning Wimbledon and Olympic champion has been sidelined since mid-September, having played a massive part in helping Great Britain reach the World Group of the Davis Cup by defeating Croatia.
I’ll be doing my best to qualify again for the tournament next year.
Andy Murray
Murray underwent surgery on a back problem soon after his efforts against the Croats and had held out hope that he might be ready to feature in London.
However, he has now been forced to admit defeat in his race to be fit and will have to wait until next year to make his comeback.
Murray’s withdrawal leaves just three players who have already qualified for the Tour Finals, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and David Ferrer. The other five qualifying spots are currently occupied by Juan Martin del Potro, Tomas Berdych, Roger Federer, Stanislas Wawrinka and Richard Gasquet.
Murray told the official ATP Tour website: “I’m really disappointed not to be playing this year, I love playing in front of my home crowd, it’s a great atmosphere.
“All the players look forward to competing in London and I’ll be doing my best to qualify again for the tournament next year.”
Murray can be backed at 11/8 to win one Grand Slam title in 2014 and 9/2 to win two, while he is 5/4 to miss out on another major title next year.
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