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Andy Murray has confirmed that he intends to compete at the Washington Open, which gets underway on 29 July, after pulling out of Wimbledon on the eve of the Championships.
After an 11-month absence from the game due to a hip injury, Murray made his return to tennis at the Fever-Tree Championships at Queen’s Club last month. But after assessing his fitness ahead of Wimbledon, the former British No 1 decided he was not ready for best-of-five-sets tennis .
Having spent the past nine days training and working on his recovery, Murray now feels he'll be fit enough to compete at the Washington Open as he turns his attention to the hard-court season.
Wimbledon: The greatest pictures from The ChampionshipsShow all 50 1 /50Wimbledon: The greatest pictures from The Championships Wimbledon: The greatest pictures from The Championships Andy Murray walks of court with the trophy past the ball boys and girls on Centre court after beating Milos Raonic in 2016.
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Wimbledon: The greatest pictures from The Championships Serena Williams falls to the ground after winning match point on Centre Court in 2016.
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Wimbledon: The greatest pictures from The Championships Rafael Nadal beat Tomas Berdych in the 2010 final.
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Wimbledon: The greatest pictures from The Championships Serena Williams after beating Vera Zvonareva.
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Wimbledon: The greatest pictures from The Championships Roger Federer kisses the trophy after beating Andy Roddick in 2009.
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Wimbledon: The greatest pictures from The Championships Serena Williams shows off the dish to photographers in 2009.
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Wimbledon: The greatest pictures from The Championships Venus Williams (USA) walks past the Photographers on Centre Court in 2007.
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Wimbledon: The greatest pictures from The Championships Roger Federer with the mens trophy after winning the title for the 5th time in a row.
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Wimbledon: The greatest pictures from The Championships Venus holds aloft the Ladies Shield after beating Marion Bartoli in 2007.
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Wimbledon: The greatest pictures from The Championships Roger Federer with the Trophy, glances over at Rafael Nadal.
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Wimbledon: The greatest pictures from The Championships Amelie Mauresmo celebrates match point. She beat Henin Hardenne in the 2006 final.
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Wimbledon: The greatest pictures from The Championships Roger Federer drops to the ground after winning match point in 2005.
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Wimbledon: The greatest pictures from The Championships Federer plays a shot in 2005.
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Wimbledon: The greatest pictures from The Championships Serena Williams with the Ladies Shield and sister Venus Willams, in 2005.
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Wimbledon: The greatest pictures from The Championships Maria Sharapova stunned Serena Williams in the 2004 final.
Wimbledon: The greatest pictures from The Championships Venus Williams hugs the winners plate in 2005.
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Wimbledon: The greatest pictures from The Championships Roger Federer holds aloft the Mens Singles Trophy after his straight sets victory over Mark Philippoussis in 2003.
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Wimbledon: The greatest pictures from The Championships Lleyton Hewitt celebrates victory in 2002.
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Wimbledon: The greatest pictures from The Championships Goran Ivanisevic celebrates beating Tim Henman in the mens semi-final in 2001.
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Wimbledon: The greatest pictures from The Championships Pete Sampras with The Mens singles trophy in 2000.
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Wimbledon: The greatest pictures from The Championships Pete Sampras kisses the Mens Wimbledon Trophy after beating Andre Agassi in 1999.
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Wimbledon: The greatest pictures from The Championships Ladies winner Lindsay Davenport with the trophy and and runner-up Steffi Graf.
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Wimbledon: The greatest pictures from The Championships Pete Sampras celebrates.
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Wimbledon: The greatest pictures from The Championships Jana Novotna celebrates victory in 1998.
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Wimbledon: The greatest pictures from The Championships Martina Hingis holds aloft the Ladies Plate.
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Wimbledon: The greatest pictures from The Championships Richard Krajicek drops to the ground after winning the final on Centre Court. He beat Mal Washington.
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Wimbledon: The greatest pictures from The Championships Steffi Graf shows Sanchez Vicario the Shield after the presentation on Centre Court.
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Wimbledon: The greatest pictures from The Championships Pete Sampras shortly after beating Boris Becker in 1995.
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Wimbledon: The greatest pictures from The Championships Steffi Graf celebrates after winning match point in 1995.
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Wimbledon: The greatest pictures from The Championships Pete Sampras reacts after beating Goran Ivanišević 7–6(7–2), 7–6(7–5), 6–0 in the 1994 final.
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Wimbledon: The greatest pictures from The Championships Conchita Martinez is the only Spanish player to have won the women's singles title at Wimbledon, where she beat Martina Navratilova to win the 1994 title.
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Wimbledon: The greatest pictures from The Championships Steffi Graff of Germany glances over to Jana Novotna as she breaks down in tears at the presentation after losing the match.
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Wimbledon: The greatest pictures from The Championships Sampras beat Jim Courier 7–6(7–3), 7–6(8–6), 3–6, 6–3 in the 1993 final.
Wimbledon: The greatest pictures from The Championships Andre Agassi receives the trophy from the Duchess of Kent in 1992.
Wimbledon: The greatest pictures from The Championships Stefi Graf shows off the ladies Plate to the crowd.
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"My plan is to play in Washington, which starts three weeks yesterday," he said during a TV interview with the BBC. "So I will be here the next couple weeks practising on hard courts then head to the states, maybe to Washington or Miami first for some practice before getting back to matches."
Addressing his decision to pull out of Wimbledon at the eleventh hour, the former Wimbledon champion said: "There is always a chance you can re-injure yourself when you start competing again.
"I wasn't worried about re-injuring but if you put your body through the extreme schedule too quickly your body will react. I wanted to be in better shape before I put my body in that situation again."
He added: "I think it was the best decision not to play at Wimbledon. I was really difficult for me. Last time I came in when the hip was bad, made the quarter-finals and misses a year. I didn’t want to go in, play four or five matches and do more damage.
"I wanted to make a smart decision. Hopefully I will be back competing in the next few weeks."
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