Britain's Andy Murray has withdrawn from this year's French Open and will now prioritise the grass-court season in the build-up to Wimbledon, which starts on July 3; the 36-year-old may play Surbiton from June 4-11 and then Queen's from June 19-25
Sunday 21 May 2023 18:03, UK
Andy Murray has withdrawn from this year's French Open to prioritise the grass-court season in the build-up to Wimbledon.
The 36-year-old has withdrawn ahead of the qualifying draw at Roland Garros after struggling to find his best form on clay in recent weeks and will now prioritise a busy grass-court schedule in the build-up to Wimbledon.
Murray had struggled for his best form on clay after proving he was physically in condition to take on the world's best players with some marathon matches at the Australian Open at the start of the year.
The former world No 1, bidding to revive his career after major hip surgery in 2018, came through two five-set victories over Matteo Berrettini and Thanasi Kokkinakis before losing to Roberto Bautista Agut in the third round.
He beat Tommy Paul in the final of the ATP Challenger event in Aix-en-Provence at the start of this month to secure his first title at any level since 2019 - after first-round exits in Monte Carlo and Madrid.
That was followed by his disappointments in the Italian Open in Rome and another Challenger event in Bordeaux to old foe Stan Wawrinka.
Speaking after that loss to Wawrinka, Murray said: "It's not so much about [physical worries]. I trust that my body will be okay 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.
"It was just more to see where my game is at. It's just what the right thing is to prioritise at this stage in my career. 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."
The 36-year-old is understood to still be considering which tournaments to target and they may include Surbiton from June 4-11 and then Queen's from June 19-25. Wimbledon is scheduled to start on July 3.
Murray, who lost to Novak Djokovic in the 2016 French Open final, is the latest big name to pull out of the Grand Slam, following Rafael Nadal and Nick Kyrgios.
British women's number two Jodie Burrage has also withdrawn from the French Open, where she was due to participate in qualifying, after failing to recover in time from a niggle.
With Emma Raducanu sidelined long term following operations on both her wrists and an ankle, 106th-placed Burrage was set to be Britain's highest-ranked woman in Paris.
She is hoping to return for the grass-court event in Surbiton beginning on June 4 and will overtake Raducanu after the French Open irrespective of her results.
