LONDON, Aug. 16(Xinhua) -- Two-time Olympic singles champion Andy Murray decided to skip doubles at the US Open later this month to concentrate on improving his performance in singles, he told the BBC Sport.
The 32-year-old Scotsman lost 6-4, 6-4 to old foe Richard Gasquet earlier this week in Cincinnati in his first competitive singles match after recovering from the 'life-changing hip surgery' in January.
The three-time grand slam champion would rule out doubles at the US Open which gets started on August 26.
"My goal is to get back playing at the level that I want to on the singles court, and I've decided that I need to focus all my energies on that right now," Murray explained his reason for giving up doubles.
Taking up a wild card entry for Winston-Salem singles next week, Murray later might compete at a Challenger tournament.
Murray regarded Winston-Salem as a chance of reviewing his performance and then he will decide what to do next accordingly.
"So if I do well in Winston-Salem, I'll know my level is good enough and I'm ready to win matches at tour level, but if not it makes sense to drop down a level and maybe play some smaller tournaments."
"I need to focus my mind on getting matches on the singles court. There aren't many tournaments between now and the end of the year."
As scheduled, Murray is to feature in two events in China in September, in Zhuhai and Beijing. The Shanghai Masters in the following week is also an option on the list. Enditem
