🗓️ It happened on an August 14, in 2016: Andy Murray was conserving his Olympic title to become the first tennis player with two singles gold medals! 🥇🥇 (🎥 @Olympics)
Andy Murray knocks on French Open's tradition-locked door for doubles main draw entry
ATPTuesday, 21 May 2024 at 23:30
Andy Murray
is reported to have requested an exception from the French Open organization to
a longstanding tradition in order to play doubles. The three-time Grand Slam
champion hopes to receive a wild card entry to compete in the doubles main draw
alongside Dan Evans, seeking rhythm ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The double
Olympic gold medalist in singles (2012, 2016) will be participating in the
Olympic Games. Although he currently ranks 91st in the Race to the Olympics and
has only the French Open left to earn points, it is almost certain that he will
receive one of the two wild cards reserved for former Olympic champions or
Grand Slam champions, which probably would go to him and Rafael Nadal.
Murray targets doubles draw
With the
British star now recovered from injury, Murray is contemplating his final
performances, having recently hinted that he may not continue competitive
tennis beyond this summer. The Olympics could mark one of Murray's last events,
considering it falls two weeks after Wimbledon.
One of his
objectives is to compete in the doubles at Paris 2024. It's understood that the
37-year-old will partner with Joe Salisbury, while Evans will team up with Neal
Skupski, both top-10 doubles players and former world No. 1s. However, at the
French Open, Salisbury and Skupski will play together as an experienced pair,
while their compatriots Evans and Murray aim to accumulate matches in doubles.
The
combined ranking of Evans and Murray is 144, making them the 6th alternates for
the draw. Murray has requested that the French Open organization grant
them a wild card entry into the draw, which would mark a departure from a
20-year tradition at the second Grand Slam of the year, where typically the 7
invitation spots are allocated to French player pairings.
Andy Murray was defeated by Novak Djokovic in the 2016 French Open final 3–6, 6–1, 6–2, 6–4
The last
time a non-French partnership received a wildcard was in 2004 when Russians
Igor Andreev and Nikolay Davydenko were also aiming to prepare for the Olympics
(Athens 2004). In this instance, Murray and Evans hope their injury-plagued
year will be taken into consideration, which hindered their ability to
accumulate more points. Additionally, Murray's illustrious career as a former
Grand Slam champion and 2016 French Open runner-up adds weight to their
request.
Decision lies with French Tennis Federation
However,
the final decision rests with the French Tennis Federation, which recently
announced wild cards for the singles event, leaving out several former Grand
Slam champions who were hopeful of an invitation. Notably, former world No. 3
and two-time finalist (2018-2019) Dominic Thiem is competing in the
tournament's qualifying rounds after narrowly missing out on entry as an
alternate.
Similar
scenarios unfolded in the women's singles draw, with former world No. 1
Caroline Wozniacki, former US Open champion Emma Raducanu, and even 2018 Roland
Garros champion Simona Halep missing out on wild card entries following her
return from a doping ban.
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