WHEN the immediate shock subsided, Andy Murray’s withdrawal from Wimbledon yesterday afternoon seemed imminently sensible. Here, in his own words, is why the former World No 1 ultimately decided it made more sense for his comeback not to include SW19.

Q. What changed to lead to the decision?

“I spoke to my team last night, my coach and the physio, after I finished press, sort of saying how I was feeling about things and kind of got their thoughts. We’ve been speaking pretty much every day about who I’m feeling in terms of my hip and how I’m getting on physically. This morning I spoke with all of my team and my doctor as well, just to get his view on things.

“I was just sort of feeling that I was not ready and willing to play – not necessarily to take a chance. When I was getting asked about certain things, it was just quite unknown. I didn’t know how I was going to respond to playing five-set matches. I went through a similar situation last year when I went into Wimbledon.

“I didn’t feel good before Wimbledon last year but decided to play. I know how that ended up. There was a bit of that in the back of my mind as well, thinking like: ‘Let’s sure make sure I don’t make a mistake’. I’ve made progress in the last month which hadn’t really been the case for the last 10 or 11 months. I was going in the right direction. I’m putting myself in a situation that I haven’t been able to replicate in training or in practice recently. Which is a maybe a bit unnecessary to do that at this stage.”

Q. So you didn’t feel any more pain?

“No. I didn’t have any setbacks in practice. I didn’t come off a particular training session and feel bad. I was kind of just reflecting a little bit on the last 10 days. It’s been a positive 10 days, two weeks. Considering the circumstances, I think I competed pretty well against the level of opposition that I was up against. Also in practices, it’s not like any of my practice sessions that guys have been killing me and I’ve been completely off the pace.

“Before Queen’s I knew that I had played a couple of sets in practice and done a little bit more training after those practices in the gym. So I knew I was pretty much ready for that. But I also know how I felt after the match with Nick, too, so there was a bit of that in the back of my mind, thinking, if I played a five-set match and it was four hours, how am I going to feel? Nobody can guarantee that I’m going to wake up and feel great.

“It’s strange for me. I said in the press yesterday, normally when I am getting ready for Wimbledon and a couple of days out, I’m feeling nervous, stressed and excited. I didn’t really feel that way this time. I didn’t feel like I was going to win the tournament. I didn’t feel I was going to do extremely well in the tournament. There were just so many unknowns. They were all signs that it was maybe not the right thing to do, to play at this stage in my recovery at that level and at that length of match, too.”

Q. How difficult was the decision?

“It’s been hard because I really wanted to play. Once you get back on the match court, you don’t want to be taking what feels like a bit of a step back in some ways. What I would not have wanted to do was play three or four matches, get through to the second week and feel terrible.”

Q Your surgeon said you could get back to the top. How confident are you that you will be back at SW19?

“I believe I will be back at Wimbledon for sure. In terms of getting back to the top of the game, I am not basing that on ranking, I am basing that on how competitive I feel I can be against the best players in the world. I will make changes to my schedule and things to try and look after my body better. I will certainly not be having any ends to the season like I did in 2016 when I am playing and winning matches every single week and not stopping for a break. I will be making sure when I am training I am not putting lots of load through my body. I will be working hard but not killing my body in training blocks either. Providing I am smart with those things, I believe I will be able to compete. I feel there is still a lot more progress I can make physically from where I was before and during Queens in the last few weeks. So if I can get myself fit and healthy I believe that my tennis will get there and it won’t take that long to get back.

Q. Was playing Wimbledon always unrealistic? Did heart rule the head?

“Well, it didn’t really. At some stage I needed to get back on the match court to compete to see how my body felt. Grass is a surface for me anyway – everyone reacts differently to different surfaces – I feel it’s quite good for my body and generally matches quick points and stuff, which is generally shorter on grass as well. It’s a bit easier on the body and I needed to get back on it to see exactly where I was at, which I did the last couple of weeks. And I view the last couple of weeks very positively. I didn’t decide when I was going to play at Queen’s that that meant also that I was going to also play at Wimbledon. I had to wait a bit to see how my body responded to the matches, and the practising and stuff, against the top players before making a decision about that. I think I was quite clear with that, and everything I’d said. All the discussions I had with my team were about taking it day by day, and just see where I’m at. I would make a decision based on Queen’s and Eastbourne, and then obviously Wimbledon. No decision was made at the beginning of the grasscourt that I was actually going to play at Wimbledon.”

Won’t it feel very strange practising on a hardcourt tomorrow, the first day of Wimbledon? Will you be able to watch it?

“Yeah I think, I guess, I’ll obviously be disappointed not to be playing, but it’s not, like I said, I don’t have any regrets in terms of anything I’ve done, like. I’ve practised as much as I could, I’ve trained as much as I was allowed, what I’ve been told by my team and the medical professionals around me. Yeah, I’ve got used to it over the last year, sort of watching tennis and stuff. A lot of my friends are involved in the sport. I still stay in contact with them when I’m not playing. I’ll be disappointed not to play, and it’s a shame because obviously I love playing at Wimbledon. Yeah, I’ve watched Wimbledon in the past on the TV, like after I’ve lost, and stuff, and yeah it’s stuff. But I’ll be all right.