Tennis: Andy Murray to miss Australian Open

Former world number one Andy Murray has announced his withdrawal from the upcoming Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the season. The British player continues to struggle with the recovery from a hip injury that has tormented the past years of his career. He has not played in an official match since Wimbledon last summer and with the Australian Open starting on January 15th, it's reasonable to believe that Murray was unable to regain his fitness in order to compete at the Melbourne tournament. "Sadly I won't be playing in Melbourne this year, as I am not yet ready to compete," said Murray. "I appreciate all the messages of support and I hope to be back playing soon." The 30-year-old was in Australia in order to prepare for the tournament but now he will fly back to London and continue his recovery. Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley said: "We are fully aware that Andy has been going through a difficult period with his hip and that he's done everything possible to prepare for the Australian summer. Personally, I also know that Andy loves tennis and would do anything to play. This is a very hard decision for Andy and we totally respect it." Andy Murray is now 16th in the ATP rankings. Novak Djokovic, another former world number one that is struggling to recover from injuries, will play two exhibition tournaments in the coming weeks to test his fitness ahead of the Australian Open. The Serbian 30-year-old has been out of action for the past six months with an elbow injury. Another important player that will miss the Australian Open is Japan's Kei Nishikori, who is suffering from a wrist injury. Roger Federer is 2/1 at Bet365 to win the Australian Open, Novak Djokovic is 9/2 and Spain's Rafael Nadal is 4/1 to win the tournament.