Wimbledon 2018: Andy Murray withdraws with a 'heavy heart,' says hip is close but not ready

Andy Murray, still recovering from hip surgery last year, announced on Sunday on his Facebook page that he has withdrawn from Wimbledon. Murray had been eyeing Wimbledon as his return to Grand Slam tennis, but stated earlier in the week, in an interview with BBC, that he wasn't going to play in Wimbledon if he wasn't competitive. 

"It is with a heavy heart that I'm announcing that I'll be withdrawing from Wimbledon this year," wrote the two-time Wimbledon champion wrote, who only returned to competition two weeks ago. "I've made significant progress in practice and matches over the last ten days, but after lengthy discussions with my team, we've decided that playing best of five set matches might be a bit too soon in the recovery process. We did everything we could to try to be ready in time." 

Earlier in the week, when a BBC reporter asked Murray if his decision "hinges" on being competitive, the former ATP World No. 1 didn't mince words.

"Pretty much, yeah," he said. "You know ... it's not like I'm going to do any damage to myself if I do play at Wimbledon ... You obviously gain stuff physically by playing matches and obviously ultimately that's the best test for you is to play competitive matches ... How do you go about improving [what needs to be improved]? Does that come from being on the match court, being on the practice court or doing more work in the gym?"

Murray also told BBC that "there is no danger of me injuring my hip more than any other stage." He also mentioned playing with Kyle Edmund, Britain's top-ranked player at No. 18 in the world, adding that he didn't win a game against Edmund when they practiced. 

With Murray out, Jason Jung will take Murray's place in the men's draw. The tournament begins Monday, and Murray was set to play Tuesday against Benoit Paire.