Andy Murray withdraws from the French Open, switches his focus to Wimbledon


Andy Murray withdraws from the French Open, switches his focus to Wimbledon

Andy Murray has pulled out of the French Open and will concentrate on preparing for Wimbledon.

Andy Murray has announced his withdrawal from the French Open in order to focus on Wimbledon and the grass-court season. The former world No. 1 had planned to boycott the clay-court season, but he changed his mind and accepted a wildcard into the Madrid Open. He remained adamant, though, that he would not compete in the clay-court Grand Slam, and has now withdrawn.

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After reconnecting with longtime coach Ivan Lendl, Murray was poised to skip the clay season and focus on grass. However, he decided to enter the Madrid Masters as a wildcard and considered playing Rome to acquire some more difficult matches before Wimbledon. The world No. 69 then developed an illness, forcing him to withdraw from his Madrid third-round encounter against Novak Djokovic, as well as qualifying for the Rome Masters. Murray’s amount of matches had been reduced due to sickness, so it was unclear whether he would still compete in the French Open.

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Andy Murray focuses solely on Wimbledon and the grass-court season

Andy Murray

The two-time Wimbledon champion will now travel to the United Kingdom to prepare for the grass-court season, which begins in early June and concludes on June 27 with Wimbledon. Murray’s exact position on grass will have to wait until the ATP and WTA make judgments on how to respond to Wimbledon and the Lawn Tennis Association’s decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players from this summer’s tournaments.

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However, all ranking points could be removed, which would have a significant impact on tour events in particular. Andy Murray had mentioned competing in the Surbiton Trophy, a second-tier Challenger event starting on May 30 in London, before going to Stuttgart for the ATP event the following week.

Also Read: ‘He definitely is next to Rafa and Roger, the greatest rival I ever had,’ Novak Djokovic sympathizes with Andy Murray for pulling out ahead of ‘epic’ showdown in Madrid

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