The 30-year-old Andy Murray is still recovering after suffering a hip injury during his quarterfinals encounter over Sam Querrey at Wimbledon. That injury forced the current world No. 1 to skip the first big ATP event of the North American swing with the prognosis for the near future being not that great. The men's tennis has witnessed an avalanche of players skipping more or less action.
Stan Wawrinka and Novak Djokovic are out for the entire season as they chose to taste a bit of Federer's special recipe. 2017 Wimbledon runner-up Marin Cilic is also skipping Rogers Cup due to an injury.
Back to Andy Murray and the choices he has ahead, the situation is simply on the edge. He would benefit from a long-lasting time off, but he will have to face the consequences involving the ranking fluctuations.
Andy Murray deserves some time off
Despite having a little success this season compared to 2016, Andy Murray, now in his thirties must find some proper balance. He definitely should consider a smarter approach when it comes to his schedule and what the goals are. It's fair to say that he is no longer in his prime therefore his sole objective should be focusing around the Grand Slam tournaments.
Despite having a single ATP title under his belt this season, his lack of form and stamina are likely to be some delayed effect consequences from last year's second half when he literally closed the huge gap between him and Novak Djokovic.Not playing in Montreal may also be the end of his reign as Rafael Nadal will surpass him if the Spaniard will reach the semis.
Moreover, starting with Cincinnati, it's likely to have Roger Federer taking his chances out for a ride.
Murray must take the ranking burden into consideration
It's a tense climate and Murray is facing some tough decisions. He could easily put an end to this season only to return perfectly fit for the Australian Open. But, to abandon fight right now will definitely throw him outside of the top 10 by the end of the season.
And he won't be the only big name in that situation.
With Djokovic and Wawrinka also out of the contest, the field for the Australian Open could be a powder keg. Just imagine how the main draw of the event will look like with Murray, Djokovic, and Wawrinka being somewhere outside the top 10. It will cause some crazy match-ups before finishing the first week of the Grand Slam.
If Murray decides to skip the rest of the season, it'll probably be the smartest decision, and no one will dare to question it. But, if he decides to get in shape for the US Open, those health issues may get even harder to deal with in the off season. There are barely two months between the ATP Finals and the 2018 Australian Open.
