HURT Andy Murray has suffered an injury scare just two weeks before the start of Wimbledon.
The Scot’s hopes of winning a first title on grass for six years were dashed as he was defeated 6-4 5-7 6-3 by Italian Matteo Berrettini in a two-hour 40-minute Stuttgart Open final.
It was Murray’s 70th ATP career final
Murray had to have a trainer massage his body
Yet in the third set of his 70th ATP career final, as he began to tire physically and started to struggle to serve, Murray required extensive medical treatment on his abdominal and hip area.
Images of the former world No1 lying flat out on a towel on the grass as a trainer worked and massaged his body will have made uncomfortable viewing for everyone connected to Wimbledon.
Though the 35-year-old gallantly, perhaps unwisely, played on to the end, there are question marks over his fitness – with medical check-up scans planned for the next few days.
Last night he flew home from Germany to London and is due to play the Queen’s first round either on Tuesday or Wednesday.
No2 seed Berrettini celebrating his win
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And then there is the matter of five-set tennis at Wimbledon – where he has twice been a singles champion – which kicks-off on Monday June 27.
Asked how severe the injury could be, Murray said: “I don’t really know. I got some pain in my ab when I was serving.
“Not something I have never had before. So I don’t know. I need to get it checked when I get home.
“This is the most matches I have played in two weeks since probably 2016. I’ve played nine matches in 14 days.
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“I played like Thursday through Saturday last week in Surbiton then Thursday through to Sunday here.
“So it’s probably normal that I would feel some stuff in my body but I don’t really know the severity of it. I’ll need to get it checked out. Hopefully it is alright.
“I’ve had some good wins, it has been a good week, but not the way I wanted to finish. A frustrating end to what was a good week.”
Murray, who had a time violation for slow serving, had his chances on the Berrettini serve but was undone as last year’s Wimbledon runner-up, who is returning after hand surgery, fired down 19 aces across three sets.
There were plenty of episodes of frustrations for Murray, who kicked the net, and slammed his racket on the net and on the ground in anger.
Berrettini, 26, said: “It feels special to win here after I had the first surgery in my life. This feels great.
“Andy is an unbelievable fighter. He wasn’t able to serve well and take his chances. This isn’t the way we wanted to finish the match, as you can see he is hurt.
“Andy has showed us so many times how to come back and I think I have learned a bit from him. It was an honour to play against him.”
Meanwhile, Stuttgart chiefs have opened a probe after Nick Kyrgios said he heard “racial slurs” from the crowd during his semi-final defeat to Murray on Saturday.
A statement said: “The ATP tournament in Stuttgart stands for creating an inclusive environment for all players, staff members and visitors where discrimination of any kind is not tolerated.
“This attitude is lived by all people involved and responsible.
“These fundamental values are as important as values like fairness, tolerance and team spirit to the event.
“Thus, no discriminating actions by the spectators are accepted.
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“We have expressed our regret towards Nick Kyrgios and his team and assured that any kind of discrimination is unacceptable. The incident is currently under investigation.”
Daniil Medvedev, the new world No.2 on the men’s circuit, was humbled 6-4 6-1 by complete unknown Tim van Rijthoven in the Libema Open final in Holland.
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