Andy Murray withdraws from Cincinnati Open with abdominal strain less than two weeks before US Open

Andy Murray withdrew from the Cincinnati Open late on Monday night due to an abdominal strain, less than two weeks before the start of the US Open.

The former World No 1, who won the first of his three majors at Flushing Meadows in 2012 and is a two-time former champion in Cincinnati, last week withdrew from the Canadian Open with the same issue ahead of his third-round match against Jannik Sinner in Toronto.

Murray said at the time: "I had a very similar issue last year in the tournament in Stuttgart before Wimbledon which forced me to miss the Queen's Club tournament and I was able to play Wimbledon. It took me about 10 to 12 days before I was feeling good again.

"This is not as bad as that, but obviously the danger if you compete and play on it is you make it worse. So, I'll need to see how it develops over the coming days and hopefully feel better in a few days. I'm really sorry. Thank you."

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Murray had shown his fighting spirit in Canada when he won a two-hour, 47-minute battle in the second round against Max Purcell. After withdrawing from that event, he travelled to Cincinnati, but is not ready to compete and has pulled out ahead of his clash with 11th seed Karen Khachanov with the same injury.

Khachanov has not competed since losing in the Roland Garros quarter-finals to Novak Djokovic and has been out with a groin injury. He will now play a lucky loser instead of Murray.

Murray is currently ranked 36th in the world, his highest ranking since having hip resurfacing surgery in 2019.

The US Open gets under way on Monday, August 28, with live coverage of the tournament on Sky Sports.

Murray recalled to Great Britain Davis Cup squad

Murray has, meanwhile, been restored to Great Britain's Davis Cup team for the finals of the group stage in Manchester.

Murray was left out of his nation's squad ahead of the 3-1 win over Colombia in February with youngster Jack Draper selected in his place.

But the 36-year-old, who was integral when Britain won the Davis Cup for the first time in 79 years in 2015, was named on Tuesday in the squad for the clashes against Australia, France and Switzerland between September 12 and 17.

Murray joins Cameron Norrie, Dan Evans and Neal Skupski in the four-man group as Leon Smith's men aim to qualify for the knockout stage in Malaga in November.