Murray claims that playing in the Davis Cup can sometimes be physically harmful
Andy Murray will not be attending the Davis Cup Finals next month because he doesn't feel worthy to play on that team.
Murray, 34, was eliminated from the Indian Wells Masters on Tuesday night by Alexander Zverev in a 6-4 7-6 (7-4).
To help Great Britain win its first Davis Cup in 79 years, he won 11 of 12 points.
He said that he had given a lot to Davis Cup and sometimes even to my own physical detriment," BBC Sport reported.
"The same thing happened to me last year when I played Davis Cup at end of 2019. "I know that coronavirus exists, but it was something I struggled with up to September of the next year."
Murray was injured in the Madrid 2019 Finals. He missed the Australian Open because of the bruising.
In recent weeks, he has been playing well - pushing third seed Zverev to the finish in Indian Wells and taking Stefanos Tisipas to five sets during the US Open's first round. He isn't sure if he is good enough to be selected for Leon Smith's GB squad.
He said, "I don't think right now that I would be playing." Leon would decide, but I don't think I have the right to be in that team.
"Cam [Norrie] & Dan [Evans] had a fantastic year. We've got strong doubles and Liam Broady is in the top 100.
"Right now I don't plan on playing in the Davis Cup. With the late finish and early departure from Australia, my schedule between now-the end of the year, it is going to be difficult for me to take a break, rest, and allow my body to breathe.
"And I want the off-season to be as close to my family as possible because I have been away recently, and that will also be true when I travel to Australia."
Murray, currently ranked at 121st worldwide, has accepted a wildcard for Antwerp and Vienna in the next two weeks. However, he says that his schedule will be determined by his health and how tired he is.
Great Britain will face France and the Czech Republic at Innsbruck during the group stages. However, the Davis Cup does not end in Madrid until 5 December.
This is only three weeks away from the time when players will have to travel to Melbourne for some type of quarantine prior to the Australian Open.
"I had many opportunities"
Zverev won Tuesday's victory against Murray for the first time.
Murray admitted that he was disappointed by Zverev's defeat, but said that he could learn from the match.
Zverev took the first set and raced to an earlier break.
The second set was the same as the first. Murray won the first break and Zverev took back control. However, Zverev made some mistakes that were not typical of Murray, forcing a tie-break.
Zverev, the 2020 US Open finalist, was able to win the crucial points. However, he was quick to pay respect to his opponent after the victory.
He said, "He's one of the Big Four I hadn't beat yet, so it's a happy accomplishment."
"I always kept my cool, even when I was down a set in each set. I knew that I had a chance. Both of us reached an exceptionally high level in the second set. It could have been either way.
It was a great match. Andy played as well as he has since his [hip] surgery. He is a great tennis player and I wish him well.
Zverev reached the fourth round of Indian Wells for the first time since 2016, where he will face Gael Monfils, the French 14th seed.
Murray stated, "The positive thing for me is that I had opportunities again."
"I felt like I didn't play a great match, but still had opportunities, so that's a positive. However, I am disappointed as I want to win these matches. "I haven't for the last few months."
After recovering from a set loss and a set defeat to Fabio Fognini, Tsitsipas, the third-ranked world player in Greece, will face Alex de Minaur, an Australian.
American Taylor Fritz upset the Italian fifth seed Matteo Berrettini by winning 6-4 6-3. There were also wins for Karen Khachanov and Nikoloz Basilashvili.
The women's draw saw Iga Swiatek and Barbora Krejcikova lose in straight sets. Angelique Kerber, Victoria Azarenka advanced to the quarter-finals.
