Andy Murray may be playing his final French Open singles match after losing to Stan Wawrinka in a one-sided first-round match between two veteran pairs.
Murray, the 37-year-old Briton, said this year was likely to be his final season on tour, having avoided surgery on an ankle injury in order to return to Roland Garros.
But Murray’s lack of time on court was evident as he lost 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 to the 39-year-old Swiss.
It was the former world number one’s first time on the clay courts of Paris since her first-round exit in 2020 and just her second since her heartbreaking semi-final defeat in 2017 (both at the hands of Wawrinka).
Murray was eliminated on the opening day in Paris as Britain’s campaign got off to an inauspicious start when Jack Draper lost to Dutch qualifier Jesper de Jong.
The 22-year-old Draper, ranked 35th in the world, lost 7-5, 6-4, 6-7 (3-7), 3-6, 6-3 to de Jong, who is ranked 176th in the world.
Murray and Draper become the first of six British players to step onto the soil of Roland Garros, with Katie Boulter, Cameron Norrie, Dan Evans and Harriet Dart launching their campaigns on Monday and Tuesday.
Murray’s French Open isn’t over yet, with him competing in the men’s doubles with Evans.
Frustrated, Draper still has work to do.
Draper is an incredible talent with aspirations of breaking into the world’s top 10, but this loss was another example of the work he still has to do.
The left-hander recently brought in South African former world number 9 Wayne Ferreira to join his coaching staff to help him achieve his goals and said before the match against de Jong that his game, particularly his serve, was “in transition”.
That’s evident in the fact that he was successful on just 50 percent of his first serves and won just 51 percent of his second serve points.
The double faults came at crucial moments, particularly at 30-40 in the seventh game of the deciding match, which helped De Jong win the match.
“My serve has been an issue this year and I’m trying to change it to get better,” Draper said.
“Right now I’m not confident with my serve. It’s something I need to improve on. I’m really disappointed.”
While Draper struggled, the 23-year-old de Jong showed confidence after winning three consecutive qualifying matches to advance to the main draw.
De Jong kept the first set close by breaking Draper’s play in the 12th game, then won the final four games of the set.
Draper has lost seven times in the main draw of a Grand Slam, but none of them were in straight sets.
A down-the-line forehand winner just in time in the tiebreaker gave Draper further progress, earning a break in the fourth set and sending the match to a decider after an 80-minute rain delay.
The only other time the Briton played a five-set match was when he beat Marcos Giron in tough conditions at the Australian Open this year.
It felt like a landmark moment in Draper’s career, demonstrating the physical and mental resilience he has developed to overcome adversity.
However, Draper was again unable to win a Grand Slam final, and de Jong will face third seed Carlos Alcaraz of Spain in the second round.
“[Last year] “I couldn’t last nearly three sets and that’s probably the longest match I’ve ever played,” Draper said.
“I didn’t have any cramps. I didn’t collapse. It wasn’t a fitness issue today, it was a tennis issue. So I think that’s a real positive.”
