"He got given it for a reason. I mean, he's such a legend of the game. He wants to be playing. He definitely deserves it"
Tuesday 29 September 2020 13:09, UK
Cameron Norrie has come to the defence of Andy Murray, saying the former world No 1 "deserved" his wild card at the French Open.
Mats Wilander questioned whether the Scot has the right to accept wild cards into Grand Slams at the expense of emerging young players prompting a backlash from Nick Kyrgios, who jumped to the defence of the 33-year-old British player on Twitter.
Murray returned to singles action last year and won the title in Antwerp where he beat Stan Wawrinka, a result that raised hopes he could again challenge at the top.
However, the three-time Grand Slam winner looked a pale shadow of himself on Sunday against the Swiss and admitted after the match that he would have a good hard think about his game.
Norrie, who went down in five sets to lucky loser Daniel Galan on Monday, has also come to Murray's defence, saying he deserves his wild card.
"Yeah, I definitely think he deserves it. He got given it for a reason. I mean, he's such a legend of the game. He wants to be playing. He definitely deserves it," said the British No 3.
"I didn't see what he (Wilander) said. I mean, you would think Andy deserves a wild card here.
"He's obviously played here for a number of years and done very well here. He's still loving the tennis, he wants to compete, keep pushing for more. I respect that and love that about Andy.
"He doesn't really care about what anyone else is thinking. He just wants to play. He's loving the game, loves competing. He gives everything. He definitely deserved it."
Norrie looked like he would be in for a trouble-free evening as he raced into a 5-0 lead in the first set.
But lucky loser Galan gathered himself to take the match to a fifth and ran out a 4-6 6-3 5-7 6-1 6-1 winner.
"I think when I won the third set, felt like I had a little bit of momentum," said Norrie. "Then he played a little bit more aggressive and teed off on a couple shots. They found the court. Gave him some confidence. I think that was the only part of the match I felt like I was in control.
"I was just very disappointed with the result, gave it everything and left it all out there. It's not enough. Just need to keep looking for more and be able to concentrate for longer periods of time, especially over five sets.
"But, no, I've really enjoyed the clay, love these tournaments. Good to be playing again at least. Wouldn't be doing anything else otherwise."
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