Andy Murray is confident he can still compete to win at Wimbledon for the third time this summer despite crashing out of the Madrid Open in the first round.
The 35-year-old suffered a shock 6-2, 7-6 (7) defeat against world no.164 Andrea Vavassori in the Spanish capital on Thursday afternoon. It was a loss that equalled Murray's worst-ever run in his professional career, having failed to win any of his last four matches on the ATP Tour.
Murray, who is currently ranked no.52 on the planet, previously lost in the opening round at Indian Wells, the Miami Open and the Monte-Carlo Masters. Jack Draper, Dusan Lajovic and Alex de Minaur were the three players to beat Murray in what has been a torturous run for the two-time Wimbledon champion.
However, despite his recent form, Murray is adamant he can still play at the highest level and win more Grand Slam titles. The Scotsman last won a major honour back in 2016 when he came out on top at Wimbledon.
"Certainly the beginning of the clay season hasn't been that easy for me, but normally after a few weeks, I start to feel better and play better," Murray said in his post-match press conference.
"Obviously last year, I'm not saying I came here and played unbelievable tennis straightaway, but I was playing well enough to win matches... against good players, top players."
"I would like to play [Roland-Garros] because I don’t know if I'll get another opportunity," Murray added. "I also have ambitions of competing for Wimbledon titles and that sort of stuff.
"I know sitting here today that probably doesn't sound realistic but I do believe that's a possibility. It's impossible to say what the right thing to do is but obviously it's a Grand Slam [the French Open]. I would like the opportunity to play."
The second Grand Slam of 2023 is set to get underway at Roland-Garros on Sunday, May 28, where the best tennis players in the world compete for another major honour. Rafael Nadal has won five of the last six French Open titles and regained the trophy last year after beating Casper Rudd 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 in the final.
But there has been doubts about whether Nadal will compete or not. American star Reilly Opelka still believes Nadal is the favourite for the competition despite his injury issues.
"If Rafa Nadal is still in the draw, if he's in the tournament, if my life is on the line, I'm going with Rafa every time, just out of respect, you kind of have to," Opelka said on Tennis Channel, per Sportskeeda.
"But behind Rafa, for sure, I'd say Carlos [Alcaraz is the only guy who could beat him there, and also, I like his chances against Novak [Djokovic] at the French Open."
