Murray Could Miss French Open Through Injury

Surprise: Marcel Granollers was taken aback when Murray walked up and shook his hand

Andy Murray has cast major doubts on his chances of playing in the French Open after pulling out of his Italian Open second round against Marcel Granollers at a set all.

The world No 2 said that problems on the left-hand side of his lower back could prevent him playing in the year’s second Grand Slam, which he described as ‘the most physical’ of all.

Murray revealed that he had taken the weekend off after losing in the quarter-final of the Madrid Open last Friday due to the sporadic back injury that he believes has been affecting him since the end of 2011.

Infrequent: The only other time Murray retired was six years ago, coincidentally also on his birthday

At a loss: Andy Murray retired at the end of the second set due to his back injury and may now struggle to make the French Open

'I had some pain similar today to Madrid,' he said on his 26th birthday. 'I hit yesterday and played some points hoping it would get a little better. I pulled out today because there was a good chance I wouldn’t be able to play tomorrow even if I got through.

'I would be very surprised if I was playing in Paris. I will talk to my physios and make a plan for the next few days. I will make a decision on Paris after the next five days or so. We will have to see how it settles down, it could be OK.'

It is not the first time that he has struggled physically on the clay. 'I think the shots that hurt are exaggerated on the clay with the ball coming through slower and bouncing higher. It’s frustrating, it’s not enjoyable when there’s pain and I want to feel 100 per cent.'

At the moment there is no suggestion that he will miss Wimbledon, which is still more than five weeks away. Roland Garros is a different matter, as it starts a week on Sunday.

Outplayed: Murray struggled to assert himself over Marcel Granollers all through the match

He retired from his encounter with Spaniard Granollers having lost the first set 6-3 but then recovered from 4-1 down in the second after on-court treatment to win a subsequent tie-break 7-5.

With the crowd expecting to see a deciding set he then walked up to shake his opponent’s hand and trundled off the court, despite appearing to be moving better than he had been doing earlier in the match.

This is now the third year in succession that Murray has had problems either in the run-up to, or during, the French Open on the surface that is most alien to him. More ailments ahead of Roland Garros, which begins a week on Sunday, is not what he wanted for his birthday.

Suffering: His back was continuously causing him a problem

It was only the second time Murray has retired injured from a match in his career, the other being in Hamburg six years ago when he badly damaged his wrist – also on his birthday.