Here is Andy Murray again… Absent from the circuit since the beginning of March, the Scottish, 34 years old next week and 123rd in the world, has still not abdicated.
Even if he is now very far from the jewel in the crown which has polished three Grand Slams, the former tenant of the ATP throne, who only played three events in 2021 (with a final ... from Challenger to Biella), resists.
This Sunday, the Briton will be on the courts of the Masters 1000 in Rome. Not to participate in the tournament but to start a week of training on land. With for first sparring-partners Diego Schwartzman and… Novak Djokovic. “I feel good at the moment, breathes Murray, passed close to retirement in January 2019 and equipped with a metal hip. I want to play against the highest level players possible because I think it will help me improve my game faster. "
The double winner of Wimbledon, who missed the first Major of the season in Australia after contracting the Covid-19, then hopes for an invitation to Lyon or Geneva before Roland-Garros where he is currently registered ... in the qualifications ( from May 24)!
“I don't mind if they don't want to give me a wild card.
That's fine, they can give it to whoever they want, he observes.
It's just complicating my schedule a bit, but we should find out within a week or two.
They want to see me compete.
Does that mean that I have to win matches, I don't know… "
Andy Murray gave everything yesterday to recover from a delay of 3 games in the 3rd set and overcome Robin Haase in the 1st round of Rotterdam.
What a warrior!
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(🎥 @tennistv) pic.twitter.com/LtYLeiaWtl
- We Are Tennis France (@WeAreTennisFR) March 2, 2021
Last September, Murray, finalist in Paris in 2016 and four times semi-finalist, had already been invited to Porte d'Auteuil, where he had been swept away as soon as he entered the running by Stan Wawrinka (6-1, 6-3, 6 -2), yet suffering from the knee.
A "performance" which had given rise to some criticism as to the legitimacy of its participation.
“I did it and I shouldn't have, it was the biggest mistake of my career.
I think Andy Murray needs to stop thinking about him and start thinking about who he was.
Does he have the right to take a wild card instead of a youngster?
»Mats Wilander asked, triple winner of the Paris tournament.
Anyone who dreams of being a golf caddy or football coach at the end of his career does not see why he would put his rackets away. “Why should I stop?” He said during his last appearance in Rotterdam. Give me a good reason why I should stop playing. With this hip I can still compete with the best players in the world. I find it quite funny. "
Whatever fate the organizers of Roland Garros have in store for him, Murray sees beyond the ring road, with Wimbledon (June 28 - July 11) and the Tokyo Olympics (July 23 - August 8) in their sights. We must not forget that Sir Andy, crowned in his London garden in 2012 and in Rio in 2016, is a double Olympic title holder. “I can't wait to have a good month this summer,” he says. It's hard for me to look too far into the future. I didn't expect it to be easy but I'm trying to achieve something that has never been done before. "