HAMBURG, Germany (AFP) -- Andy Murray's hopes of achieving a top eight seeding for the forthcoming French Open were ended on Tuesday when he was forced to retire from the Hamburg ATP Masters with the latest in a long line of injuries.

It was a dreadful birthday surprise for the world number ten from Scotland, who had been outplaying the Italian hero Filippo Volandri in the first round of the Masters Series until he was led from the court in agony with a damaged wrist.

The 20-year-old had earned a 5-1 lead over last week's conqueror of Roger Federer in Rome by launching sudden fierce ambushing flat groundstroke attacks from both wings to break up the baseline sparring.

This policy helped Murray to make a spectacular start, in which he won the first 12 points and the first four games, but may have contributed to a sudden burst of pain as he over-hit a forehand drive while serving for the set.

Murray, one of the world's two or three most promising players and hopeful of doing well at the French Open at Roland Garros the week after next, decided to continue immediately, but after striking two backhands comfortably he dropped his racket suddenly in the middle of the next rally after playing a forehand drop shot.

Striking the ball at all on the forehand seemed to have become almost impossible but, surprisingly, after a seven minute interval during which the trainer appeared and Murray's right wrist was strapped up, he insisted on continuing again.

This time the Briton again yelled loudly as soon as he struck a forehand and the match ended in distressing scenes with Murray bending over at the back of the court, convulsed with pain for nearly a minute.

Eventually the umpire called the match to Volandri and Murray was attended by the trainer again before being led off and taken to hospital for an MRI scan.

It was yet another in a long list of injuries Murray has suffered this year. After appearing to have problems with his side during his long match with Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open in January, he finished with multiple injuries against Novak Djokovic in Indian Wells in March.

Murray then suffered a groin injury while losing to Djokovic again in Miami a fortnight later, and then had his clay court season spoilt by a back injury sustained in a doubles match in Monte Carlo last month.

All the while Murray has had to cope with a longstanding problem with an ankle, which he usually keeps in a brace while competing.

The latest setback will increase question marks whether an immensely talented and impressively improving player has the physical capacity to reach the very top, as some pundits have claimed he can.