Andy Murray withdraws from Rogers Cup, Rafael Nadal favourite to reclaim World No.1 ranking

Andy Murray has withdrawn from the Rogers Cup beginning on 5 August in Montreal which could lead to the end of his reign – since November last year - as the World number one.

The Scot has been suffering from a hip problem which also hampered his progress at Wimbledon and he remains a doubt for the US Open which starts on 28 August. The Cincinnati Masters precedes the tournament at Flushing Meadows and Murray could target a return in Ohio to prepare for the final Grand Slam of the year.

"Sad to be missing Montreal as I I've always loved playing there but I'm working hard to get back on the match court soon. Thanks for all the support!" Murray wrote on his official Instagram page alongside a video and pictures of him training in the gym.

Murray could lose his world number one status by the time he returns to action with Rafael Nadal just 285-points behind the Scot. The Spaniard can reclaim the top spot by just reaching the semi-finals at the Rogers Cup.

The three-time men's singles Grand Slam champion has over 5000-points to defend in the second-half of the season and his absence from key tournaments including the US Open could see him drop out of the top two as Roger Federer at world number three is not too far behind. Moreover, the Swiss ace is not defending a single point after missing the last five months of the 2016 campaign with a knee injury.

Former world number one Boris Becker has urged Murray to take a leaf out of Federer and Nadal's book and concentrate on getting fully fit and not worry about winning titles and his world number one ranking. The aforementioned duo ended their 2016 season early in order to focus on fitness and have returned to top form in 2017 winning a combined nine titles between them thus far which include the first three majors of the season.