Andy Murray set to return to action after accepting wildcard into Challenger event

Kevin Palmer
September 8, 2021

Andy Murray will be back in action next week after accepting a wild card into an ATP Challenger event in Rennes.

Murray is keen to get back into action quickly after he lost in the first round of the US Open to No.3 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, after a thrilling five-set battle in New York.

The three-time Grand Slam champions sparked a huge debate in tennis after that match as he questioned the seven-minute toilet breaks his opponent took, with Tsitsipas booed by the New York crowd in his subsequent matches.

Now Murray is eager to allow his tennis to do his talking for him once again, as he confirmed he will join Richard Gasquet, Gilles Simon and Lucas Poullie at the indoor event that is on the second tier of the ATP circuit.

“We are very happy with this last-minute surprise, materialized under the leadership of its sports director Nicolas Mahut,” said Matthieu Blesteau, tournament director in a press release.

“This is an exceptional opportunity that Rivacom Events did not want to pass up, to attract one of the greats of the sport.”

Former British No.1 Greg Rusedski suggested Murray’s performance against Tsitsipas at the US Open was evidence that he can compete at the highest level of the game despite his lengthy injury problems, but he admits his road back to the top will be challenging.

“You have go to look at what he has been through over the last four years,” began Rusedski, in an exclusive interview withTennis365.

“It’s great to see him winning some matches again, but the problem is we are comparing him to the guy in 2016 and that’s not the player he is now.

“It’s phenomenal what he did to win a tournament after hip surgery in 2018 and what we saw from him in Cincinnati last week was encouraging, but to go on and win these big events at the Masters 1000 level or the US Open is unrealistic.

“It’s also disrespectful to the next generation of players coming through because players like [Daniil] Medvedev, [Stefanos] Tsitispas and [Alexander] Zverev are great players and they will start to win Grand Slams sooner rather than later.

“My hope is that his body is fine after he concludes this adventure and if it is, then we can all look back at his amazing career and appreciate Andy for what he brought to our sport.

“Andy will get the answer he wants by the end of this year. If he can have a good run of being healthy from now to the Paris Masters, he will have his question answered.

“He’s not had a chance to play consistently over the last four years because the injuries have affected him and it must be mentally brutal trying to come back over and over again.”

This is not the first time Murray has entered ATP Challenger event this year, with the Scot trying to overcome niggling injuries when he reached the final of an event in Biella, Italy back in February.

Andy Murray