When the tennis world gathered in Paris late last month for the second Grand Slam tournament of the season, Andy Murray chose a different path. After all, he plays professional tennis at the highest level with a metal right hip, so it’s wise to rest his body when he can.
While his opponents were still playing matches, he trained, built his form and got used to the pitch well before most, and during his week in Stuttgart his results reflected his preparation well. But on Sunday afternoon, in his first final on grass court since 2016, Murray’s tournament ended with some concern as he struggled with an abdominal injury and was beaten 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 by Matteo Berrettini.
“Sorry I didn’t make it today, but there’s been a lot of progress over the past few weeks,” Murray said. “I’m looking forward to the future and feeling a lot better about my game. Hopefully my body will hold out for a while longer so I can keep playing matches like this.”
After reaching the final without dropping a set, Murray faced an even greater challenge with last year’s Wimbledon finalist Berrettini, who has returned from a three-month hiatus following hand surgery. The Italian immediately asserted himself, gutting Murray’s second serve to secure an early break and then dominating with his tremendous forehand and serve in set number one.
Murray held at serve throughout the second set, but at 4-4, he faced three break points with the match hanging by a thread. Murray saved them all, holding in front on serve and then his sustained pressure on Berrettini eventually led to a breakthrough as Murray broke for love to force a third set.
However, once Murray leveled, the match was pretty much over. After an error-ridden opening service game, Murray immediately called the coach. He couldn’t serve at full tempo and then got another medical time-out mid-serve at 2-4. A limping Murray struggled against one of the biggest servers in the world but couldn’t make another impression.
Afterwards, Murray said it was a left abdominal injury he sustained on serve in the third set and not a left hip injury as originally reported: “It’s a really long time [since] I played nine games in 14 days,” said Murray, who also played in Surbiton last week. “I also played here from Thursday to Saturday and then from Thursday to Sunday last week. So it’s probably normal for me to feel something in my body, but I don’t really know how bad it is. I need to get it checked. Hopefully everything is all right.”
Murray is due to compete at the Queen’s in London, which starts on Monday, where he will be drawn against Lorenzo Sonego.
But his game presence is clearly in doubt now given his physical problems. Should he play, Murray, now back in the top 50 for the first time since 2018, would have a shot at being seeded with a deep run on home soil at Wimbledon.
Stuttgart remains an extremely positive breakthrough for him. In the past year he has already shown that he can still hold his own against the top players, but he often struggled to maintain the high level he used to have and he struggled in key points. Not only has he played at a consistently high level throughout his time in Germany, but those problems are gone.
All in all, while a month off from the tour helped him unlock a higher level, the heavy burden on Murray’s body in his first week back was obviously taking its toll. The challenge for him remains to stay healthy to benefit from the progress he continues to make.
Organizers of the Stuttgart Open tournament are investigating claims by Nick Kyrgios that he was racially abused by spectators during his semi-final loss to Murray on Saturday.
Kyrgios, who refused to play in the second set until the supervisor intervened, lost 7-6(5) 6-2. He later revealed on Instagram that he retaliated after hearing a racial slur.
“We stand for creating an inclusive environment for all players, staff and visitors where discrimination of any kind will not be tolerated. This attitude is lived by all those involved and those responsible,” says a statement from the organizers.
In ‘s’-Hertogenbosch, world No. 205 Tim van Rijthoven pulled off one of the most notable title runs of recent years by beating world No. 2 Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 6-1 and claiming his first ATP title won as a wild card on home soil.
The 25-year-old Dutchman’s title run included wins over Felix Auger Aliassime, in 9th place, and No. 14 Taylor Fritz, second and third place finishers. He had never played an ATP main draw game before, or even played against a top 40 player.
At home, Dan Evans defeated Jordan Thompson to win the Rothesay Open Nottingham for the second time in three years.
The British No. 2 was relegated to the second-tier Challenger Tour to start his grass-court season and reaped the benefits by reclaiming the title he won in 2019.
Evans didn’t drop a set all week and ended his title run with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Thompson, who won the Challenger title in Surbiton last week.