Andy Murray says Novak Djokovic’s chances of winning the French Open shouldn’t be ‘counted out’ as he backs another rival to claim the title later this year.
The former world No.1 told reporters at Indian Wells that Rafael Nadal remains the ‘favourite’ to triumph at Roland Garros yet again. The Spaniard is currently on a 16-match winning streak after claiming titles at the Melbourne Summer Set and the Australian Open where he won a record 21st major title. Nadal has won more ATP trophies on the clay than any other player in history and has already won the French Open 13 times.
Djokovic is aiming to return to action next month at the Monte Carlo Masters. He has withdrawn from events in Indian Wells and Miami as he is not allowed to enter the country due to being unvaccinated against COVID-19. The Serbian has only been able to play one tournament so far this year after being deported from Australia following two high-profile court hearings.
“As it stands today I would have to put Rafa as being the favourite to potentially win the French Open again. Novak has obviously had very little competitive tennis for a period, and Rafa obviously started the year extremely well,” said Murray.
“He’s maybe in a position that I think he even said he was not expecting himself to be in, even a few months ago. So he probably feels quite relaxed and maybe a little bit less pressure than was on him at a couple of French Open’s.’
“I wouldn’t count Novak out, for sure, but it’s not going to be easy because he’s obviously missed quite a lot of tennis.”
Over the coming weeks it is likely that Murray will be watching his peers perform on TV instead of actually playing alongside them. Earlier this year he announced his intention to skip the clay swing in order to minimize the risk of injury. He has previously said that playing on the surface in recent years had aggravated issues bothering him. The 34-year-old plays with a metal rod inserted into his hip after undergoing career-saving surgery in 2019.
“I’m not planning on playing the clay court season,” the three-time Grand Slam champion stated.
Murray, who has recently reunited with former coach Ivan Lendl, crashed out of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells on Sunday following a second round loss to Alexander Bublik. The Brit had a trio of set points in the opener but failed to convert and ended up losing 7-6(9), 6-3, to the Kazakh.
“He obviously came up with some good serves at times, but I certainly had my chances and against players that play that style of tennis and have obviously big serves and not easy to break, you need to, when you get those chances, be ruthless and I just didn’t quite play well enough in those moments and that’s the thing that obviously I want to turn around.” He reflected on his latest performance.
Murray will next play at the Miami Masters after receiving a wildcard to play in the main draw.
