Andy Murray casts doubt on Paris Olympics with brother Jamie unable to play
Andy Murray is eligible to play at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
British tennis fans could be denied seeing Andy Murray play at the 2024 Paris Olympics this summer. The gold medalist in London and Rio has committed to playing at Wimbledon in July, where he is set to enter both the mens’ singles and also play in the doubles with brother Jamie.
But the 37-year-old has now cast doubt over whether he will head to France later that month.
Speaking after losing in the first round of the Stuttgart Open to American Marcos Giron, Murray was non-committal for the tournament that will be held at Roland Garros.
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"I still need to see what happens with the Olympics,” he admitted. “I’m not 100 per cent sure what the situation is with the doubles. If I just get into the singles, whether or not I will play I don’t know.
“I don’t know if I would go just for singles so I need to wait a little bit and see on that. My body did not feel great on clay the last few months. I need to wait and see on that."
Murray fell at the first hurdle at the same venue in the French Open, beaten in straight sets by Stan Wawrinka. And he suffered the same fate in the doubles, with him and Dan Evans knocked out by Sebastian Baez and Thiago Seyboth Wild.
His ambiguity over the doubles event comes after it emerged he will not be able to team up with his sibling in France. The younger of the two Murrays is able to claim one of International Tennis Federation’s two Olympic places for past gold medallists, but sibling Jamie is not eligible to qualify given his current world ranking.
National Olympic Committees have been given a deadline of Tuesday, June 18 to confirm whether they wish to use their allocation of places for the Games. Tournament organisers are then set to announce their final entry lists on July 8, during Wimbledon.
Murray’s latest loss in Germany signified his third straight first round defeat. And he admitted afterwards that he needed to up his current levels to enjoy any kind of positive swansong at SW19.
"My game needs to improve, the level of tennis on the tour is high,” conceded the Scot in his post-match interview. “I need to play better if I want to win more matches.”
Murray won his first Olympic crown on home soil in 2012, blowing away Roger Federer in the final. He duly retained his title in Brazil four years later, defeating Juan Martin del Potro.
