Murray weighs on French Open return after 1st-round defeat in Madrid Open

MADRID: Andy Murray said he hopes to play at French Open after crashing out in the first round of the Madrid Open on Thursday.

Murray suffered a first-round defeat against Andrea Vavassori 6-2, 7-6(7) on Thursday at the Madrid Open.

"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. Obviously last year, I'm not saying I came here and played unbelievable tennis straight away, but I was playing well enough to win matches... against good players, top players," Murray was quoted as saying by ATP.com in his post-match press conference.

Murray also suggested that he might play at Roland Garros for the first time since 2020.

"There are a few different opinions in my team about what I should be doing," Murray said of a potential return to the Parisian clay, on which he has competed just once since his run to the 2017 semi-finals. When asked to elaborate on his thoughts towards Roland Garros, Murray stated he hoped to participate in the year's second Grand Slam.

"I would like to play, just purely because I don't know if I'll get another opportunity to play again. Whilst I feel fit and healthy, I would like to give it a go. But I also have ambitions of competing for Wimbledon titles and that sort of stuff, and I know that sitting here today that probably doesn't sound realistic, but I do believe that that's a possibility. I obviously want to do the right thing there," he explained.

Murray skipped Roland Garros in each of the past two years to make an early start to his Wimbledon preparations.

"I don't know. It's impossible to say what the right thing to do is, but obviously it's a Grand Slam. I would like the opportunity to play," he concluded.