Andy Murray HUMBLY accepts that his ultimate chance of having a deep run is at Wimbledon despite French Open looming around the corner

Andy Murray unsure about his chances of playing at Roland Garros

Andy Murray HUMBLY accepts that his ultimate chance of having a deep run is at Wimbledon despite French Open looming around the corner

Image Credit: Time of India

Andy Murray crashed out of the Italian Open in the first-round match with Fabio Fognini. Though Andy fought well, the match had to go another way. Now there is a big question looming over the 35-year-old Britisher. Whether he should play the French Open starting on 22nd May or play another clay Challenger in Bordeaux, France? Or skip the remaining clay season entirely and go for better preparations for his favorite surface, i.e. Grass courts.

In an interview to the Guardian, Murray said, “I don’t know, I’ll need to chat to my team about that and see what I do from here.” Though ex-World No. 1 has missed out on the last few French Open tournaments, he was looking forward to the 2023 French Open. He might not get another opportunity to play at the Roland Garros beyond 2023, as it might mean overstretching his physical limits. But the Britisher rubbished that saying, “It’s not so much about [physical worries. I trust that my body will be OK after what I did at the beginning of the year. I played back-to-back five-hour matches and did well physically in those matches. There’s no reason why that should necessarily be any different here.”

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Murray was referring to the matches he played at the Australian Open, defeating 2 big names, Matteo Berrettini and Thanasi Kokkinakis. Murray defeated both players in over 5 hours, 5 setters, and a very intense battle. Despite his metal hip, he moved well on the court. Even in the match with Fabio Fognini, Murray did well till the second set, despite his refurbished hip. Though in the third set, he looked like he had some lower back discomfort.

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Reflecting on his last few clay court ATP 1000 matches, Andy Murray is unsure about how deep he could go in the French Open. He knows his chances could be better at Wimbledon. “It’s just what the right thing is to prioritize at this stage in my career. I trust my body now but I’m aware that my best chance of having a deep run is more likely to happen at Wimbledon.”

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Andy Murray’s has had a topsy turvy 2023 so far

Andy Murray's has had a topsy turvy 2023 so far
Image Credit: Olympics

Andy Murray’s 2023 had a great start when he defeated both Matteo Berrettini and Thanasi Kokkinakis in back-to-back 5-set thrillers at the Australian Open. The world went raving about the 35-year-old with a metal hip’s ability to do so well. The tennis world could not stop praising Andy for his tenacity and indomitable spirit to win. Though he lost in the third round to Roberto Bautista Agut in 4 sets, the confidence continued.

He did especially well in the Qatar Open, reaching the final match but losing only to the third-seeded Daniil Medvedev. In order to reach the final, he defeated great players, Alexander Zverev and Lorenzo Sonego, to name a few. At Indian Wells, he reached the third round, where he lost to Jack Draper. So far so good, but the downfall came with his first-round loss at the Miami Open to Dusan Lajovic. He had 2 more ATP 1000 first-round losses following this one in quick succession. He lost to Alex DeMinaur at Monte Carlo Masters and Andrea Vavassori in the Madrid Open.

And again, things started to look well for the Brit, when he won the Challenger at Aix-en-Provence. He defeated world no. 17 Tommy Paul in the final to lift the Challenger trophy. Though this winning streak came to a quick halt when Murray lost to Fognini on 10th May. The world would hope to see a little more of Murray, as he is surely one of the most entertaining players to this date.

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