Former world number one Murray slumped to his joint-worst defeat at a Grand Slam on Sunday with a 6-1, 6-3, 6-2 loss at the hands of Stan Wawrinka in the first round of Roland Garros. While it was a lopsided match, it should be noted that British star was playing his first match on clay in three years.
Incidentally, his last match was a five-set semi-final at French Open against Wawrinka that was the last straw for his hip, which had to be replaced last year. The three-time Grand Slam title winner and runner-up at the French Open in 2016 has undergone two hip surgeries in order to cure an injury which pushed him to the brink of retirement.
The heavy defeat on Sunday prompted seven-time Major winner Mats Wilander to controversially question Murray’s desire to play and seemed to suggest that he retire from tennis. After his loss to Wawrinka – his first opening round defeat in Paris since his 2006 debut – Murray insisted he intends to keep playing even though his ranking is now 111.
“I worry about Andy Murray. I would love to hear him say why he is out there, giving us a false sense of hope that he going to come back one day,” Wilander told Eurosport.
“I keep getting a little bit disappointed, is it his right to be out there doing that? Why? I did it and I shouldn’t have, it was the biggest mistake I did in my career. I think Andy Murray needs to stop thinking of himself and start thinking about who he was. Does he have a right to be out there taking wildcards from the young players?”
These comments were met largely with opposition from the tennis world, who said that the Scotsman had a right to keep playing. The 33-year-old’s struggles in the last few years are well documented as have his efforts to come back to the top.
Since men’s tennis restarted last month, Murray has beaten Frances Tiaofe and US Open runner up at Western & Southern Open before notching a battling five-set win on his Grand Slam return. His last match before that was the European Open final where he beat Wawrinka.
Murray also found support from former coach Daniel Vallverdu who coached him from 2010-2014 and is now part of Wawrinka’s team.
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