French Open 2020: ‘Would love to hear him say why he is out there’ Former World No.1 lashes out at Andy Murray

French Open 2020: ‘Would love to hear him say why he is out there’ Former World No.1 lashes out at Andy Murray
Andy Murray Mats Vilander
Mats Vilander (left), Andy Murray (right)

French Open 2020 Round 1 match-up of 3-time Grand Slam champions Stan Wawrinka and Andy Murray was expected to bring the much-needed heat to the centre court Philipe-Chatrier in Paris. With dropping temperatures and a handful of spectators in the stands, these skilled players’ firepower was to set the clay-court blazing.

The reality, however, surprised everyone. Murray crashed out of the French Open and won just 6 games in his match against Stan Wawrinka.

Mats Wilander, former World No.1, accused Murray of giving ‘false hopes’ of return. The Swede made his opinions on the Brit very clear and harshly criticised his performance in the French Open 2020 and didn’t seem surprised by Murray’s one-sided first-round loss against Wawrinka. 

“I worry about Andy Murray. I would love to hear him say why he is out there, giving us a false sense of hope that he going to come back one day,” Mats said on Murray’s exit.

He added, “I keep getting a little bit disappointed, is it his right to be out there doing that? Why?”

Matts Wilander’s harsh comments on Andy Murray

Andy Murray 10
Andy Murray

Wilander said that Murray had no right to take wild-card entries that could be beneficial for younger players.

Andy Murray has been handed a wild-card to participate in Grand Slams and other events since rejoining the tour after his hip injury. A player needs to have a certain ranking to qualify for a spot to play in tournaments and Wilander didn’t take too kindly on Murray getting wild-cards, despite being ranked 111th and not performing well on the ATP tour.

Wilander angrily stated, “I did it (on taking entry through a wild-card) and I shouldn’t have, it was the biggest mistake I did in my career. I think Andy Murray needs to stop thinking of himself and start thinking about who he was. Does he have a right to be out there taking wildcards from the young players?” 

Andy Murray reacts to Wilander’s criticism 

Andy Murray 12
Andy Murray

Murray reacted on Instagram to Mats’ critique with his dry humour with a simple but sarcastic “Love this.”

Also Read: French Open 2020: ‘I didn’t play well’ says Andy Murray after 1st round defeat against Stan Wawrinka