MONTREAL — World No. 1 Andy Murray is withdrawing from the Rogers Cup, becoming the third player in the top six of the ATP rankings to do so over last two days.
Tennis Canada announced Murray's withdrawal Thursday, hours after No. 6 and Wimbledon finalist Marin Cilic pulled out and a day after No. 4 Stan Wawrinka announced he would not be participating because of a knee injury.
Murray said he needs more time to recover from a hip injury. This is the second consecutive year that Murray will miss Canada's Masters 1000 event after competing in the tournament every year from 2006-2016.
"I am sad to be missing the tournament in Montreal because I have many great memories from my time in Canada. I am doing everything I can to return as quickly as possible" Murray said in a statement.
Cilic says he suffered an adductor injury at Wimbledon, where he lost to Roger Federer in straight sets in the final.
He said Thursday that "until the very last moment I was hoping that improvement concerning my injury will be good enough, but I am forced to withdraw."
Murray is a three-time Rogers Cup champion. Cilic posted his best Canadian result in 2008 when he reached the quarter-finals.
"We would have liked for Andy to be able to defend his title that he won here in 2015, but we wish him a very speedy recovery and to Marin Cilic as well following his great run at Wimbledon," said Eugene Lapierre, the tournament director of Rogers Cup in Montreal, said in a statement.
Following the withdrawal of Murray, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer will now be the top two seeds in Montreal and will be placed at the top and bottom of the draw. Rising stars Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev will round out the top four.
Qualifying for the Rogers Cup begins Saturday, with the main draw starting Monday.
The Canadian Press
