Andy Murray, Kyle Edmund withdraw from Davis Cup tie in Glasgow

Andy Murray has withdrawn from Britain's Davis Cup playoff tie against Uzbekistan in order to focus on his comeback from hip surgery.

The former world No. 1 returned to best-of-five-set tennis for the first time in 14 months at the US Open last week but, after hobbling to a second-round defeat against Fernando Verdasco, has decided to skip the Sept. 14-16 World Group playoff tie, along with British No. 1 Kyle Edmund.

With the tie being held in Glasgow, Scotland, it was hoped that Murray would feature in what could have been his final match in the country of his birth.

The new Davis Cup format, passed at an International Tennis Federation summit last month, reduces the tournament to a week-long event held at a neutral site, significantly reducing the possibility of home ties.

As Scotland does not currently host an ATP Tour events, the tie against Uzbekistan represented a final opportunity to play on home soil. Following the team announcement, Murray said in an Instagram message he was sorry he would not be able to play in front of the Glasgow crowd.

"With this possibly being my last chance to compete in Scotland as a professional I really wanted to be there with the team and found this decision emotionally quite challenging," he said.

"I had spoken about possibly coming to just play doubles but having been recommended to take a couple of weeks off hitting to continue my reconditioning I didn't want to just show up not ready to perform to a high enough standard and ultimately let my teammates/country down."

I just wanted to write a quick message to apologise to the British davis cup team and all the fans who are coming to watch in Glasgow and support on tv. I have genuinely loved competing in this Davis cup format over the course of my career and have had some of the most memorable and special moments (the lob) of my career competing for my country. With this possibly being my last chance to compete in Scotland as a professional I really wanted to be there with team and found this decision emotionally quite challenging. I had spoken to our captain, Leon, about possibly coming to just play doubles but having been recommended to take a couple of weeks off hitting to continue my reconditioning I didn't want to just show up not ready to perform to a high enough standard and ultimately let my teammates/country down. If I don't get the chance to compete in Scotland again I just want to say thank you so much to all the fans who have come along to watch and support the team over the years. You have created some incredible atmospheres for me and the team to play in and I will always remember that. Having been born in Glasgow and growing up in Scotland I would never have imagined I would see such passionate fans packing out stadiums for tennis matches. Playing with my Big Bro in those stadiums has been very very special. Thank you so much again.. I'll miss you 😢👋 🎼 by yon bonnie banks and by yon bonnie braes🎼 #tennis

A post shared by Andy Murray (@andymurray) on Sep 3, 2018 at 8:18pm PDT

Along with the three-time Grand Slam champion, British No. 1 Kyle Edmund will also miss the tie.

Edmund has recently been suffering from a viral illness and was eliminated from the US Open after a first-round loss to 36-year-old Paolo Lorenzi in the brutal humidity of Flushing Meadows.

Daniel Evans, Cameron Norrie and Jay Clarke will be joined by doubles specialists Jamie Murray and Dominic Inglot.

Although classified as a World Group playoff, the result against Uzbekistan will have little bearing on Great Britain's Davis Cup participation in 2019.

Whereas defeat under the old format would have led to relegation from the World Group, a loss against Uzbekistan should still see the nation qualify for the 18-team tournament next November.

Information from Reuters contributed to this report.