Paris | Murray decides not to play French Open

Andy Murray will be joining the likes of Rafa Nadal and Nick Kyrgios on the list of absentees at this year’s French Open, both still recovering from injuries (hip and foot respectively) and Roger Federer, who has retired.

No official statement has been issued on behalf of the Scot but it is understood that his name has been withdrawn from the official list for the second grand slam of the year which starts on Sunday.

Murray has maintained he desperately wanted to play at Roland Garros, despite the series of losses he has sustained during the preliminary clay court events leading up to Paris.

The 36-year-old three-time grand slam champion, following a good run against some of the world’s best players at the Australian Open, started his clay court campaign with some confidence at the Monte Carlo Masters’ where he lost in the first round. That result was repeated in Madrid and Rome.

To get the match practice he required to get ready for the French, he decided to drop down a few levels and play a couple of Challenger events, winning the final in Aix-de-Provence prior to Rome but then losing to Stan Wawrinka in the second in Bordeaux after his Italian trip.

Murray’s best showing at the French was a final appearance in 2017 where he lost out to Novak Djokovic with Wawrinka more recently, beating him in the first round of the 2020 edition.

The former world No.1 will now be considering his prospects at Wimbledon and concentrating on preparing for that with likely appearances at Surbiton (June 4-11) and Queen’s (June 19-25).