Andy Murray could skip French Open to focus on Wimbledon, predicts Justine Henin
Former World No. 1 Justine Henin believes Andy Murray could skip the French Open and the remainder of the clay-court season in order to compete at Wimbledon.
Murray entered the Monte-Carlo Masters for the first time since 2017 and suffered a 6-3, 6-1 defeat to 14th seed Alex de Minaur in his first-round match. He later described the game as one of the worst he has ever played throughout his career.
Justine Henin claimed that the Scot found it hard to find rhythm and that his game was not helping him on clay.
"We could see yesterday that it was tough for him to move and to find the rhythm. His game was not really helping to make the difference on the clay. It is tough to say that about Andy because we love him so much, what he has done on the tour is just amazing," the Belgian told Eurosport.
Henin also claimed that Murray would have some doubts about competing at the French Open after his defeat as he is towards the end of his career. She said that the 35-year-old could prioritize Wimbledon and that could make him rethink his clay-court participation.
"Of course, we can use these experiences, but for him at this point in his career, we will see the decisions that he is going to take. At the end of his career, he will need to make his priorities," Henin said.
"His priority for sure is Wimbledon. He wants to play one more Roland-Garros - he wasn't sure a few days ago and maybe is even less sure now.
"We will see the decisions he makes. Is it a good choice to stay on clay? We will see what he decides soon."
Andy Murray is next scheduled to compete at the Madrid Masters
After losing to Alex de Minaur, Andy Murray now has a 8-6 record so far in the 2023 season.
The Scot is next scheduled to compete at the Madrid Masters, which is statistically his most successful tournament on clay. Murray has won 23 out of 33 matches so far in the competition and secured the title in 2015 by beating Rafael Nadal in the final.
He competed in last year's edition of the Masters 1000 event and reached the Round of 16 with wins over Dominic Thiem and Denis Shapovalov. However, he withdrew right before he was supposed to face Novak Djokovic due to illness.