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Struggling Murray may skip Queen's

Andy Murray conceded that the lower-bouncing grass courts could help his back © Getty Images

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Andy Murray is considering pulling out of the AEGON Championships in a bid to be fit for Wimbledon, insisting it "is not a disaster" if he does not play a competitive match on grass before heading for the All England Club.

Murray, the defending champion at Queen's, has been nursing a back injury since December that threatened to curtail his French Open campaign in the second round before he rallied to reach the quarter-finals, where he was beaten by David Ferrer on Wednesday.

With the Olympic tennis event, also hosted by Wimbledon, following hot on the heels of the Championships ahead of the US Open, Murray faces a hefty tournament schedule and believes he needs to set aside time for both a rest and a physical training block to be primed for the summer.

"I will sit down and discuss this event [Queen's] and the best way to prepare," Murray said. "It is not a disaster if I can't play a tournament before Wimbledon.

"I need to get some good physical work done and that will be important. It's about when that can be done - whether it's over the next five, six days before I play at Queen's or the four or five days I would have after Queen's before Wimbledon.

"Novak Djokovic didn't play before the Australian Open this year and I don't believe he played before Wimbledon last year. That is why I will need to speak to all the guys and discuss when the best time to start is. I probably could do with a day or two off as well."

The tournament organisers at Queen's, who have employed two-time champion Murray to promote the event, will hope that Murray's team can convince him that a grass court tournament is just what he needs to help his back, a notion Murray is already considering.

"Every player has niggles. Everybody has problems from time to time and you have to find ways of dealing with them," he added.

"I think the grass will probably help a bit. You're not having to generate as much power because the ball is coming into you a little bit more and doesn't get up as high as it does on the clay. That's why I think the grass will help."

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