Andy Murray keen to play at Paris Olympics despite retirement talk
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Andy Murray has struggled for victories in recent months and is currently ranked 67th in the world.
PHOTO: AFP
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LONDON – Andy Murray hopes to challenge for a third Olympic gold medal in Paris this summer, despite a run of poor form and the likelihood that he is possibly just months from the end of his illustrious career.
The 36-year-old Briton, who is the only tennis player ever to win two Olympic singles titles, has struggled for victories in recent months and is currently ranked 67th in the world.
Until a victory against Alexandre Muller in Doha earlier in February, he had been on a six-match losing streak and on Feb 28 admitted that he would probably not play on beyond the summer.
“Hopefully I can get the chance to compete at another one,” Murray, who has struggled following hip operations in recent years, told BBC Radio Four’s Today programme, when asked if he would be present at the Paris Olympics.
The three-time Grand Slam champion won singles golds at London 2012 and in Rio de Janeiro four years later, but could be in danger of missing out on qualification for the singles in Paris if his ranking continues to slide.
To earn direct entry into the Olympic singles, he must be inside the top 56 of the ATP rankings on June 10, before the global sporting showpiece takes place from July 26 to Aug 11.
Murray’s immediate target will also be finding some form for Wimbledon, which many have suggested might be the logical place for him to bring the curtain down on his career, as he won two of his three Slams there.
The Scot enjoyed an encouraging victory over Canada’s Denis Shapovalov at the Dubai Tennis Championships on Feb 25, but lost to France’s Ugo Humbert on Feb 28.
After that defeat, Murray said: “I’m likely not going to play past this summer. I get asked about it after every single match that I play, every single tournament that I play.
“I’m bored of the question, to be honest. I’m not going to talk more about that between now and whenever the time comes for me to stop. But yeah, I don’t plan on playing much past this summer.”
Murray, who has been playing with a metal hip since he underwent resurfacing surgery in 2019, also hopes he will be fit enough to compete at the French Open in May, which would be his first appearance at Roland Garros since 2020. REUTERS, AFP
