Britain's Andy Murray falls to heavy defeat against Stan Wawrinka at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Bordeaux, leaving the 36-year-old with the decision about whether to compete at this year's French Open or pull out and prepare for Wimbledon instead
Wednesday 17 May 2023 19:08, UK
Andy Murray suffered a chastening 6-3 6-0 defeat to old foe Stan Wawrinka in the battle of the former Grand Slam champions at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Bordeaux.
Murray rolled back the years at this month's Aix-en-Provence Challenger, where he captured his first title at any level since 2019.
But the Scot, who celebrated his 36th birthday earlier this week, was unable to produce the goods against three-time major champion Wawrinka in the second round of the lower-tier ATP Tour event.
Murray, who suffered a first-round loss to Fabio Fognini at the Italian Open last Wednesday, will now weigh up his options on his participation at the French Open later this month.
He has a desire to play in Paris since he is unsure if he will have another opportunity to do so.
"It's not so much about [physical worries]," Murray said. "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."
Wawrinka, who won the 2015 French Open, forced a break in the fourth game before holding to lead 4-1.
Although Murray saved several set points on his next serve, the veteran Swiss soon closed out the set.
Murray's serve faltered again at the start of the second set, with Wawrinka twice breaking to lead 3-0.
Wawrinka, 38, maintained the pressure to break Murray again in the fifth game.
Although Murray forced a break-point chance of his own in the next, he was then again frustrated by a line call as Wawrinka recovered to serve out for the match and complete what was a straightforward victory in one hour and 17 minutes.
Murray - who has only played at Roland Garros once since 2017 - is expected to soon decide whether or not to compete on clay in Paris, potentially for the last time, or begin his preparations early for the grass-court season as he looks towards Wimbledon.
