Laura Robson's Australian Open Hopes Suffer Blow After Injury Setback

Laura Robson's hopes of being ready for next week's Australian Open took a hit after she was forced to retire from her first round match at the Hobart International.

It was the 19-year-old's first match of the new season after she was forced to withdraw from last week's ASB Classic in Auckland with the same injury, but a reoccurrence has dealt a blow to her preparations for the first major of the summer.

Things began well for the British number one as she beat Yanina Wickmayer 6-4 in the opening set of the contest, before she handed the initiative back to her opponent earlier in the second after serving a double fault.

Robson's afternoon would soon come to a premature end as her wrist injury forced her to pull out of her match with the opening day at Melbourne just seven days away.

It was Robson's first competitive outing since she started working with American coach Nick Saviano in November last year after parting ways with Miles Maclagan.

While Robson's participation is in doubt, Andy Murray is ready to begin his quest to secure more grand slam titles in 2014 in Australia next week. But the Scot maintains his first priority will be to regain full fitness after playing through the pain barrier for much of 2013 before undergoing surgery.

"I want to be healthy," Murray told Sky Sports.

"I want to be 100 per cent fit and be able to play all of the shots I need to, to compete at the top of the game.

"I was getting to a stage where I was struggling to do that on a consistent basis because I was playing in pain for a while.

"I want to get healthy first then I will see where my game is at and make some goals. But right now the goal is to get healthy."