Andy Murray has pulled out of his Citi Open quarter-final with Alex de Minaur in Washington. The former world No 1 cited fatigue having finished his third-round win against Marius Copil at 3.01am on Friday.

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Murray said in a statement on the ATP website: “I won’t be able to play my match tonight. I’m exhausted after playing so much over the past four days, having not competed on the hard courts for 18 months. I also need to be careful and to listen to my body as I come back from a long-term injury.



“I’m gutted not to be playing and I’d like to thank the tournament and all the fans. There are lots of positives to take from this week, so I’ll take some time to rest and recover – I won’t play in Toronto next week – and then head to Cincinnati early to prepare and get ready.”

Andy Murray had been left sobbing on court after a marathon victory over Copil, crying into his towel for several minutes after coming from a set down to win 6-7 (5), 6-3, 7-6 (4). It was the first time he had reached the last eight of a tournament since Wimbledon in 2017.

Murray had threatened to pull out immediately after beating Copil and was scathing in his comments over the scheduling on Friday morning.

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“Finishing matches at three in the morning is not good,” Murray said. “It’s not good for the players. It’s not good for anyone, I don’t think, involved in the event. It’s not good for fans, TV. Nobody.

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“I’m giving my view right now as someone who’s just come back from a very, very long injury lay-off. I don’t think I should be put in a position like that, when you’re expected to come out and perform the next day. I don’t think it’s reasonable. I know that the weather’s tricky for the scheduling but it’s a very difficult position to be in.”

Murray, competing in only his third tournament after prolonged injury problems and hip surgery in January, had played a trio of three-set matches within four days. Victory over Copil was his latest ever finish to a match, having only come on to court at midnight, after rain caused the start of Thursday’s play to be delayed by more than three hours.

If Murray had not withdrawn, the tournament would have presented an unexpected opportunity for his first ATP Tour final since winning in Dubai 18 months ago, with Russia’s Andrey Rublev the only seed left on his side of the draw. Having also withdrawn from the Rogers Cup in Toronto, Murray will next be in action at the Cincinnati Masters, which is due to begin on 11 August.

Konta beaten by Mertens in San Jose

Johanna Konta has been beaten 7-6 (4), 6-3 by Elise Mertens in the quarter-finals of the Silicon Valley Classic.

Konta had seen off Serena Williams and Sofia Kenin at the California tournament, but the No 4 seed proved a step too far.



The first set saw the two players exchange breaks before the Belgian took the tie-break and Konta lost her first two service games in the second set as Mertens wrapped up victory in an hour and 35 minutes.