• ATP World Tour Finals

I had no clue about Murray injury - Tipsarevic

Andy Murray was forced to pull out of the ATP World Tour Finals with a groin injury © PA Photos

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Janko Tipsarevic claims that Andy Murray gave him no indication that he was going to pull out of the ATP World Tour Finals with a groin injury.

Murray, who confirmed his withdrawal from the tournament on Tuesday afternoon, was replaced in Group A by first alternate Tipsarevic, the world No. 9.

The Serb failed to make the most of his late opportunity, squandering a match point in his defeat to Tomas Berdych on Wednesday.

But Tipsarevic hit with Murray on Sunday, and the Serb insists Murray showed no signs of carrying an injury, and instead he was mentally preparing himself to play in Group B, instead of Mardy Fish, who had injured his hamstring at the Paris Masters.

"In practice, it honestly never crossed my mind that he could be injured," Tipsarevic said. "The only guy who I maybe suspected that might change was Mardy Fish before he played Rafael Nadal. But then when I saw him perform, at one point I was certain that I'm not going to play.

"Regarding Andy Murray, I never, ever thought that he might pull out before we practised or after the practice. I saw that he wasn't feeling great. I saw him also against David Ferrer. I felt that, you know, he was running okay but he wasn't feeling good on the court. I honestly never thought, you know, that he has a physical issue.

"Sometimes players feel tired. Normally when you play a set, and there is 10 or 15 minutes left, sometimes if you have a court longer you just stop. But I never thought that he stopped because he has a physical problem."

Murray was within his rights to leave his decision to pull out until the very last minute, but Tipsarevic paid tribute to the British No. 1 for giving him plenty of notice.

"Luckily I found out early enough," he said. "So as soon as I finished my practice, I was released by the ATP because I became an official part of the tournament, which means that I went to my room pretty early, I went early to bed, and I did everything necessary.

"I am happy that I got the information in time so I can make my preparation and schedule for the match today as needed."

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