Andy Murray waited until almost the last moment before Saturday’s Olympic tournament draw before pulling out of singles but still planning to give it a go in doubles.
The 37-year-old former gold medallist said he “ran out of time” in his recovery from a June back injury at Queen’s Club which forced him to skip what had been billed as a career farewell to Wimbledon.
Murray said in Paris that he will devote his Games energy to playing doubles with Dan Evans.
“I’ve taken the decision to withdraw from the singles to concentrate on the doubles with Dan,” Murray said in a video clip.
“Our practice has been great and we’re playing well together.
“Really looking forward to getting started and representing GB one more time.”
The three-time Grand Slam winner added: “Unfortunately I trained to be ready for singles and doubles. But I’m getting a bit older now and it’s harder to recover from injury.
“I just ran out of time.”
Murray’s last-minute decision delayed the draw ceremony by 20 minutes as organisers scrambled to fill in the Murray blank
The draw threw up a possible second-round clash between top seed Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, ranked 161 after two long years of injury struggles.. Nadal,who owns 14 titles at the Roland Garros Olympic venue, starts with Hungarian Marton Fucsovics, while Djokovic faces Matthew Ebden.
