Injury forces Roddick Out of Washington

Thress times champion Andy Roddick has been forced to withdraw from next week’s Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington DC because of an injured abdominal muscle.

Roddick suffered a partial tear of an abdominal muscle on his right side in practice. He joins four other marquee players in missing the Lagardere Unlimited owned tournament; fellow former world  no.1 Lleyton Hewitt, American Davis Cup team-mate Sam Querrey, Canadian Milos Raonic and Japan's Kei Nishikori.

Doctors confirmed Roddick is suffering a Grade 2 strain or a partial tear of the oblique abdominal muscle on his right side. In May the 28 year-old pulled out of the French Open in May with  a right shoulder injury.

Currently ranked 12th on the ATP  World Tour rankings, Roddick has been
inactive in tournament play since losing  in Wimbledon’s second round to
Feliciano Lopez more than a month ago. His last  on court appearance was a
losing Davis Cup effort against Spain in his home town  of Austin, Texas when he lost in straight sets to David Ferrer.

Jeff  Newman, Legg Mason Classic tournament director said: "Make no mistake; it's  disappointing to lose a player of Andy's caliber, especially in light of his  success and many years of participation throughout his career here in DC. He is  a great competitor and we hope he recovers quickly and is back competing very  soon."

Roddick was as a teenager when he won his first Legg Mason title  held at William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center in Rock Creek Park in 2001,  beating Holland’s Sjeng Schalken in the final . He also won in 2005 and 2007  with final wins over fellow Americans James Blake and John Isner.

A year  ago he was beaten in the third round by Frenchman Gilles Simon but then received  the results of blood tests which showed he had been suffering from mononucleosis  for several months.