Andy Murray receives felicitations from English footballing legend Gary Lineker after Provence Challenger triumph
Former World No. 1 Andy Murray defeated Tommy Paul to win the Aix-en-Provence Challenger Title on Sunday, May 7. Following his triumph, former England striker Gary Lineker applauded Murray on social media.
Murray's title at Provence came after a wait of almost four years. The three-time Grand Slam winner's last title triumph came in Antwerp in October 2019. Since then, the Scot has struggled with his form as well as injury issues.
However, Murray managed to seal the 2023 Provence Challenger title by beating top-seed Tommy Paul in the final. Interestingly, the Scot won his last challenger title 17 years and eight months ago, in 2005, which is the longest gap between challenger titles in history.
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What an incredible competitor @andy_murray is. 👏🏻👏🏻 twitter.com/BBCSport/statu…
Former Tottenham Hotspur and Barcelona forward Gary Lineker retweeted a post from BBC Sport about Andy Murray's triumph in the clay court competition.
"What an incredible competitor @andy_murray is." Lineker wrote.
Lineker made 80 appearances for the English national team, scoring 48 goals in the process.
Andy Murray won his first clay court title since 2016
After a first-round loss in the Madrid Open against Andrea Vavassori, Andy Murray entered the ATP Challenger Tour 175 event in Aix-en-Provence as a late wild card.
The Scot started his campaign against former Roland Garros semifinalist Gael Monfils. Fifth-seeded Murray recorded a comfortable win over Monfils in the Round of 32.
Murray then went on to defeat three more Frenchmen, Laurent Lokoli, Luca Van Assche, and Harold Mayot, to reach the final, where he was up against World No. 17, Tommy Paul. The American won the first set, but Murray crafted the perfect comeback to win the title 2-6, 6-1, 6-2. It was Murray's first triumph at a clay court tournament since the 2016 Rome Masters.
Following the win, the three-time Grand Slam champion climbed to World No. 42 in the ATP Rankings. Murray's victory over Tommy Paul also marked his third top-20 win of the 2023 season.
The two-time Wimbledon champion talked about the atmosphere at the competition and thanked the local fans who came to watch him play.
"The most important part of this week [was] the fans who came out to support. The atmosphere from the very first match right to the end was incredible. It’s so important for these tournaments to have the support of the local community and you guys came out even before the tournament started," Murray said.
The Province Challenger title will surely help Murray gain confidence ahead of the Italian Open.