The dream is over.
Reigning Wimbledon champ and world no.4 Andy Murray will not be serving up high-class tennis for hundreds of adoring local fans next weekend after the much-awaited Dream Cup had to be postponed until next year due to an injury to fellow top ten player Richard Gasquet.
An inside source at ESPN – the event’s broadcast partners – initially disclosed the news before organizers confirmed the delay of the inaugural three-day event, which was also slated to feature former US Open winner Juan Martín del Potro and world no.13 Nicolás Almagro.
“I would like to apologize to all the fans there since I was really looking forward to travelling to Barbados for the first time,” said Gasquet via press release.
“Sadly I have injured my elbow and following my doctor’s advice I need to refrain from playing tennis for a minimum of three weeks. I will look forward to coming back in the near future.”
Tournament organizers said their attempts to “secure a replacement player of equal calibre” proved futile as each contingency player had already booked other engagements, and that they would rather postpone the event to an undisclosed date to provide “the unique and high quality event promised for the public and ESPN viewership”.