Washington: Former world number one Andy Murray has announced that he would not be competing at the singles event in the upcoming US Open beginning August 26. On Monday, Murray's singles return began with his loss to Richard Gasquet of France at the Cincinnati Masters. Gasquet, the two-time champion in the US Open warm-up, comfortably beat Murray 6-4, 6-4 in the first round contest. And although he felt no major pain, Murray announced that he will not be playing singles at the US Open. Rafael Nadal Pulls Out of Cincinnati Masters in Order to Prepare for US Open 2019. 

"We were hoping to maybe hold a wild card until a little bit closer to the time to see how I feel and get some matches hopefully and a bit of practice," the ATP tour website quoted Murray as saying after the match. "(It was) a decision I made with my team. I didn't want to take a wild card today because I just didn't know how I was going to feel after a match. I felt like I wanted to be fair for me to maybe try and get a couple of matches in before making a decision like that." Serena Williams Powers Past No 1-Bound Naomi Osaka Since US Open Final, Simona Halep Retires Hurt. 

The Scot added that he might potentially play singles next week in Winston-Salem, but that he plans to play men's doubles and mixed doubles in Flushing Meadows. "If I would have taken the wild card and then not played, then I would have been getting loads of questions about my hip and, 'Why has he turned it down? Is something wrong? What's the problem'?" Murray said. "It was more likely that I was not going to (play), because although I did fine in the match today, physically, my legs felt quite heavy at the end of the match, and that's probably not going to change a whole lot in a couple of weeks."

Murray, although, seemed satisfied with his performance against Gasquet. "I think I did okay. I think there were a lot of things I would like to have done better in the match, but you also have to be somewhat realistic, in terms of what you can expect." His last singles match at the Australian Open on January 14 was a five-set loss, which he feared might be the end of his career. The 32-year-old is still recovering from the right hip resurfacing surgery on January 28.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 13, 2019 09:29 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).