After Andy Murray suffered a five-set loss to Stan Wawrinka in the 2017 French Open semi-finals, he was struggling but still didn’t realize how much his life was about to change. The lengthy best-of-five sets that had characterized him for most of his career were now excruciating.
“I couldn’t sleep that night,” Murray said Friday. “I had a lot of pain in my hip. I remember getting up that night and lying on the couch in excruciating pain. I never recovered. I couldn’t extend my leg behind me properly after that game. It was such a shame.
Murray said that loss would prove to be the final straw for him and his status as a top player competing for a Grand Slam title. On Sunday, he will return to the same venue for another first-round match against the Swiss at Roland Garros, where they will rekindle their 19-year rivalry in what is likely to be Murray’s final appearance in Paris.
With both players entering the twilight years of their careers, the situation is very different. Murray, who just turned 37, has experienced the most difficult year of the tour so far, suffering serious injuries due to poor form. Wawrinka, 39, has a 3-9 record on the ATP Tour this year, although he appears to be more content with his current situation.
Murray suffered a serious ankle injury in the third round of the Miami Open two months ago and his prospects of playing in Paris seemed slim. It’s reasonable that he has struggled with his own motivation at the prospect of a long-term rehab on the sidelines after the Scot’s injury history.
“I’m amazed at how well I’m doing in rehab – I feel very motivated,” Murray said. “I work very hard every day with my team and physiotherapists, with no breaks or holidays to feel sorry for myself.
“I just finished the job. I’m surprised by that because it’s easy for me to feel sorry for myself, taking a break and not finishing the rehab as well as I did. I’m proud of it. If this had been looked at differently It’s going to be easy, I worked really hard to come back and that’s one of the reasons why I was able to come back a little earlier than I expected.
Meanwhile, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, the second and third seeds respectively, are feeling fit and ready to compete after their preparations for the French Open were disrupted by injuries. While the latter has been battling a forearm injury since the start of the clay-court season, Sinner suffered a hip injury at this month’s Madrid Open. Both players subsequently withdrew from the Italian Open but trained without incident upon arrival in Paris. As the highest-ranked players in the second half of the draw, they could face each other in the semi-finals.
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Alcaraz also admitted that he did not want to face Rafael Nadal in the first round. The 14-time champion was originally drawn with the third or fourth seed. World No. 4 Alexander Zverev will be Nadal’s opponent. “No, to be honest,” Alcaraz said, smiling. “When I saw that I had a 50% chance against Rafa, I… [no] Thanks.
Novak Djokovic makes an incredible preparation for his French Open title defense after losing to Czech Tomas Machak 6-4, 0-6, 6-1 in the Geneva Open semi-finals .
With the defeat, Djokovic will head to Paris without a title for the first time since 2018 and only the second time since he won his first career title in 2006.
