DPA/Rome

Exhausted Andy Murray bowed to pre-French Open caution and withdrew from the Rome Masters while women’s holder Serena Williams also pulled out with a right elbow injury in a double blow for the tournament.
Murray, winner of his last nine ATP clay contests, was to have faced Belgian Davis Goffin in the third round.
Williams, the top seed, handed a quarter-final place to American Christina McHale.
Murray said he was feeling the weight of the run of form which has resulted in the first two clay honours of his career: back-to-back titles in Munich and Madrid.
With the French Open starting a week from Sunday, the world number three Murray was taking no chances with his fitness, especially after the best clay run of his career.
“I’m obviously tired, I felt OK on court yesterday and played a pretty good match. But this morning I was exhausted when I got up,” he said.
“I did a 40-minute warmup and felt extremely flat. We (fitness team and coach Amelie Mauresmo) chatted for half an hour as to what was the best thing to do.
“I’ve played nine matches in 12 days and some doubles. It’s the is the longest I’ve ever had on the clay in my career. This just seems like the right thing to do.”
Williams said she made what she called a “smart decision” by withdrawing due to the elbow problem which she said began last week in Madrid.
“Having a good opportunity to go far here doesn’t make it easier to pull out. But this is a a mature decision for me. I wasn’t serving my best in Madrid, she said.
“I don’t think this will impact me in Paris, If I continued to play it could get worse and I’d have a situation on my hands. If I continued to play it could hurt my chances not only in Paris but also at Wimbledon.”