Andy Murray admits he's more likely to make a deeper run at Wimbledon than French Open
After Andy Murray took down Tommy Paul to win the Provence Challenger last week, it seemed like he was back in form. However, a first-round exit at the hands of Fabio Fognini at the 2023 Italian Open washed out the Scot's momentum before the French Open. After the loss, the former World No. 1 has now revealed the uncertainty of his participation at Roland Garros.
17 years, 8 months.
The longest gap between Challenger titles in history!
#ATPChallenger | @andy_murray https://t.co/iAPqM9mnjn
Speaking in an interview with The Guardian, Murray revealed that he'll discuss with his team his future in the coming tournaments. He also said that he's not sure whether he'll be playing next week in France or not before the Clay Major.
“I don’t know. I’ll need to chat to my team about that and see what I do from here. There’s the possibility of playing the tournament next week in France. Whether I’d consider playing the week before the French Open or not, I really don’t know. I’ll need to have a chat with the team and see what the best thing to do is.” said Andy Murray.
Recently, at the Madrid Open, the three-time Grand Slam winner also opened up about the different views inside his camp about his Roland Garros participation. Murray has missed the French Open in recent years due to health concerns, mainly overextending his body limits.
However, the Scot said that he got off to a good start this year and he's not worried about the physical concerns, keeping in mind that he played a couple of five-hour matches back-to-back at the Australian Open, where he also emerged as the winner each time.
"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." added Murray.
The two-time Wimbledon champion concluded that he's familiar with his body, but admitted he'll be able to perform at his best at the All England Lawn Tennis Club as he has secured two Grand Slam titles there in the past.
"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,” said Andy Murray.
Fabio Fognini eliminated Andy Murray from the Italian Open in the first round
After winning the 2023 Provence Challenger, Andy Murray arrived in Rome with a lot of support from the fans. However, his run ended in the first round following a shocking loss against local favorite Fabio Fognini. The Scot came up short in the first set in front of Fognini's serve, falling 4-6.
MAMMA MIA!!! 🇮🇹⭐️
Fabio Fognini stuns Andy Murray as he wins in three sets (6-4 4-6 6-4) on home soil! The Italian now leads 5-4 in H2Hs. 👀
The former world no. 9 will face Kecmanovic in the second round of the Rome Masters. https://t.co/3TSOEDqsQ0
Consequently, Murray managed to seal the second set with a similar scoreline. The last set eventually turned into a thriller, as both players wanted a berth in the second round of the Rome Masters. However, after two hours and 54 minutes of hard-fought action, the Italian managed to win the match 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.