Andy Murray plays down Zika fears at Olympics

Omnisports

August 3, 2016 2:50 AM

Andy Murray insists he has no concerns over the Zika virus as he prepares to defend his Olympic gold medal in Rio de Janeiro.

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The Brit won the singles at London 2012 and has decided to defend his title, despite worries over Zika in Brazil.

Milos Raonic and Tomas Berdych are among those to have withdrawn due to the virus in blows to the men's draw.

Murray said he had been assured of his health, with wife Kim and daughter Sophia deciding against attending.

"No, Kim and Sophia aren't coming. They were never coming," he told a news conference on Tuesday.

"I spoke to my doctor and he assured me everything should be OK. Hopefully, I don't get too many mosquito bites, but I don't think it's too bad at this time of the year.

"There's a lot of places that are a little bit dodgy, like in Miami as well. You just hope that nothing happens."

Swiss pair Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka are also among those to have withdrawn, but both due to injuries.

Murray said it was still a high-quality field despite the absences of the top-10 players.

"It's unfortunate with Roger and with Stan. They're obviously two guys who are great players and capable of winning at events like this, so it's a great shame they aren't here," he said.

"But still it's a pretty strong field. A lot of the top-20 players are here. It's unfortunate that a few of the top 10 are missing. Some of them are citing Zika as the reason, and there's a couple of injuries and that is unfortunate."

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