Andy Murray was knocked out in the first round of what is likely to be his final French Open with the three-time Grand Slam champion overpowered by fellow veteran Stan Wawrinka at Roland Garros.
Murray, who says he does not expect to play much beyond this summer, lost 6-4 6-4 6-2 to 2015 French Open winner Wawrinka, the same player who eliminated him in the opening stage when the Briton last played in Paris back in 2020 and also in the 2017 semi-finals on his previous appearance before that.
Murray was broken in the first game of the match as Wawrinka unfurled some booming groundstrokes – a sign of things to come – with the former world No 1 then unable to take the two break points he carved out in the fourth game of the opener.
The 37-year-old could not manage a solitary break point in the second set, one he fell behind in when he was broken by Wawrinka in the third game, while he lost each of first two service games in the third as the Swiss ran out a handsome winner and Murray missed out on a potential second-round meeting with Cameron Norrie.
Murray’s French Open is not over just yet, though, as he is scheduled to play in the doubles with Dan Evans.
Norrie, who plays Russia’s Pavel Kotov on Monday, is now one of only two Brits left in the men’s singles draw, alongside Evans, with Jack Draper following Murray in being eliminated on the opening day following a five-set defeat to Jesper de Jong.
Draper, aiming to reach the second round for the first time in Paris and set up a clash with world No 3 Carlos Alcaraz, recovered from two sets down but then lost the decider, beaten 7-5 6-4 6-7 (3-7) 3-6 6-3 as he fell in the opening round for the second year running.
