Andy Murray bows in Montpellier opener leaving tennis future uncertain

     "I need to have a long hard think about it...I should be analyzing...and trying to understand why the performance was like that..." Andy Murray had said after his first round loss at the French Open to Stan Wawrinka in three straight sets. But in 2019 at the European Open the victory was reversed and Murray had won the European title against Wawrinka.

Things are becoming a whirlwind of incidents and it's leaving him startled

     After four months since his last ATP tour match, Murray has now lost in straight sets (7-6, 6-1) in Montpellier to Belarusian Egor Gerasimov. This was their first meeting and it has left the Brit feeling just as unsettled as if he'd never played the event. Four straight matches he's lost and doing something about it is getting more complex. Gerasimov was naturally feeling upbeat about his win talking with the ATP media he said" I just wanted to try my best today because I was playing with a great champion. It was a big experience and I'm happy." The score didn't exactly tell the performance of the players with Murray coming very close to winning the tiebreak and in the second set great ball movement and some good shots. But on the other side of the net stands Andy Murray, the multi-grand slam winner having 46 career titles in his 16 years on the professional tennis tour. 

     It was five years ago the Brit was ranked no. 1 in the world, now he's 121 and hoping he can improve bit by bit. Situations have come across Murray's consistency on tour and if it's not the hip injury and two surgeries, it's the Pandemic that came knocking out the schedule of events and leaving the tennis community in shambles. The Brit prepared steadily for the first grand slam of the season, the Australian Open of which he was a finalist five times but never won. Little did he know that the virus would spread worldwide, and he became positive for the COVID-19 right before taking a flight to Melbourne. He had to sadly withdraw and thinking how he'd make the tour's quarantine protocols proved impossible to accomplish. He would recuperate and think about the new season to come. Resting up is all Murray could do but he decided to begin his 2021 season in Biella, Italy on the ATP Challenger Tour. He had started feeling much better physically and mentally for preparation of a new season. Despite Murray being defeated in four straight previous matches, he had wanted to enter the Challenger level of he did well. He progressed in the event and went deep making the final. Unfortunately though his loss to Ukraine's Illya Marchenko wasn't to be predicted but it said a lot about his game status and what it could become.

     Andy Murray has to go back to the diagnostic boards as to what part of tennis would be a great fit for him on working his way back to a decent playing form and health condition. Former player now commentator Tim Henman might have a suitable philosophy for Murray's predicament, saying that "If he would have won Biella, it's possible for him to get back to his former performances." Henman feels that playing five matches in six days is wonderful. "I think it also speaks volumes about his hunger and desire," the former ATP player said. The desire is there and that's what keeps Murray still pushing forward with going on tour. But he knows that it's one tournament and one match at a time he should think about. As he had said concerning his declining but steady rankings: "I'll need to get better if I want to move up the rankings and be more competitive."

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3uDvOOX