Three-time Grand Slam champion and former world number one Andy Murray is among five players handed a wildcard into the main draw of next week’s Miami Open, tournament officials said Monday.
Murray, who skipped this week’s Dubai Tennis Championships after becoming a father for the fourth time with wife Kim Sears, returns to the Miami Open field for the first time since 2016.
The two-time Wimbledon and Olympic champion, who is on the comeback trail after hip surgery two years ago, won the Miami Open in 2009 and 2013 and reached the final of the event in 2012 and 2015.
“It is exciting to see Andy back in Miami,” said Miami Open tournament director James Blake. “As someone who has had to battle back from injury during his career, I understand and respect all the hard work Andy has put in to get back on tour.”
Murray is joined in the main draw by Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, Michael Mmoh of the United States, Hugo Gaston of France and Britain’s Jack Draper.
Anna Kalinskaya, Ana Konjuh, Storm Sanders, Katrina Scott, Mayar Sherif, Wang Xiyu and Wang Xinyu were granted main draw wildcards in the women’s tournament.
On Sunday, two-time Miami Open champion Kim Clijsters withdrew from the tournament.
The former world No 1, who was due to return to competition in Miami, pulled out of the tournament on Sunday but said on Twitter that she was “not ready to quit”.
The 37-year-old Belgian, who won the Miami tournament in 2005 and 2010, had been handed a wild card to take part in her first official match since September 2 when she lost to to Ekaterina Alexandrova in the first round at the US Open.
The four-time major winner underwent a knee operation in October and then contracted Covid-19 in January, forcing her to revise her plans.
“While the symptoms were mild it did disrupt my training schedule,” the mother of three said on Twitter.
“Unfortunately I am not where I need to be especially if I want to compete with the best. It’s disappointing and frustrating. I knew this was going to be hard when I started this journey - and there have been challenges outside my control.
“I’m not ready to quit... I’m going to keep pushing and see what’s possible.”
Clijsters only played three tournaments and three matches in 2020, beaten each time in the first round. Currently ranked at 1,055 in the world, Clijsters had also been offered a wildcard at Charleston.
With AFP Inputs
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