NEW DELHI: The highly anticipated possibility of another match between Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic vanished on Tuesday as Murray exited the Geneva Open, marking his comeback from an ankle injury.
Murray, playing on a wild card, was trailing 7-5, 4-1 against Yannick Hanfmann when a thunderstorm interrupted play at Parc des Eaux-Vives on Monday. Resuming on Tuesday, the German world number 85 swiftly concluded the match, taking the second set 6-2 in just over 10 minutes.
Since Friday's draw, tennis enthusiasts had hoped for what could have been the final encounter between two members of the legendary Big Four—Djokovic, Murray, Rafael Nadal, and the retired Roger Federer—who have dominated men’s tennis for the past two decades.
Instead, Hanfmann will face world number one Djokovic in the second round on Wednesday.
Currently ranked 75th, the 37-year-old Murray, who plays with a metal hip, has indicated he may retire from competitive tennis within a few months. Nadal, similarly beset by injuries, is also nearing the end of his career and is uncertain about participating in the upcoming French Open.
The Geneva match marked Murray’s first tour-level appearance since he injured tendons in his left ankle in Miami in March. The 28-man Swiss clay court tournament is a crucial preparation event for the French Open, the year’s second Grand Slam.
Djokovic, who turns 37 on Wednesday, entered Geneva with a wild card to address a concerning slump in form ahead of defending his French Open title next week. The 24-time Grand Slam champion risks arriving in Paris without a title this season for the first time since 2018 unless he wins in Geneva.
The Geneva draw also features Casper Ruud, the Norwegian world number seven, and other top 20 players such as Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton, and Sebastian Baez.
Murray and Djokovic last faced each other in the 2017 Doha final, where the Serbian emerged victorious.
Murray, a former world number one and three-time Grand Slam champion, won the US Open in 2012 and Wimbledon in 2013 and 2016, with 11 Grand Slam final appearances. He also secured Olympic singles titles in 2012 and 2016.
(With AFP inputs)
