Andy Murray to miss Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships

Former world No 1 to miss next week'sa tournament after wife gave birth to their fourth child

Former world No 1 Andy Murray is currently ranked 116 in the world. AFP

Andy Murray will not play in next week's Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships after his wife Kim Sears gave birth to their fourth child.

It is understood the 33-year-old Scot, still on the comeback trail following hip surgery two years ago, felt he would not have had enough preparation time for the tournament.

Instead Murray will to travel to the United States early next week to prepare for the Miami Open, which begins the following Monday.

The former world No 1 is expected to receive a wild card to play in Miami.

Murray last played at the AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, winning his opening match against Robin Haase before losing 7-5 6-2 to Russian world No 8 Andrey Rublev last Wednesday.

The two-time Wimbledon champion is currently ranked 116 in the world.

It is another blow for the Dubai tournament after world No 2 Rafel Nadal turned down wildcard invitation for the ATP 500 event.

The world No 2 has yet to fully recover from the back injury he picked up ahead of last month's Australian Open.

Earlier this week, Murray said he feels the “fittest he has felt for a long time” and that his determination to keep playing remains strong.

"I still love playing the game. It's my biggest motivation. It's what makes me get up in the morning and keep training hard," he told Sportskeeda. "It's all I've ever known and I think facing retirement helped me realize how much passion I've still got to keep going. I knew I just wasn't ready to give up.

“Physically, I’m feeling good. My hip isn’t giving me any pain anymore and I’m happy with how I’m moving on court.

“I trained really hard in the run up to Biella so I’m the fittest I’ve felt for a long time. I’m keen to play as many matches as possible at the moment, as match practice is what I’m lacking most right now."