Former Swedish tennis star Mats Wilander says he is ‘100 per cent‘ pulling for Andy Murray after previously criticising him for using a wild card to play at the French Open.
Wilander, who won seven Grand Slam titles during his career, accused the former world No.1 of ‘thinking about himself’ following his first round loss at Roland Garros. Murray was brushed aside 6-1, 6-3, 6-2, by Stan Wawrinka in what was his joint-worst loss at a major in terms of games won. Speaking shortly after Murray’s performance, Wilander questioned if it was right for the Brit to have taken a wild card into the tournament which could have been given to a younger player. Prompting backlash from some over his comments.
‘I worry about Andy Murray. I would love to hear him say why he is out there, giving us a false sense of hope that he going to come back one day,’ said Wilander who was commentating for Eurosport at the time.
‘I keep getting a little bit disappointed, is it his right to be out there doing that? Why? I did it and I shouldn’t have, it was the biggest mistake I did in my career. I think Andy Murray needs to stop thinking of himself and start thinking about who he was. Does he have a right to be out there taking wildcards from the young players?’
Murray, who has been blighted by injury trouble in recent years, responded by uploading a screenshot of the comments on his Instagram story with the caption ‘love this.’ The 33-year-old has undergone two hip surgeries and has only played in four majors since the start of 2018.
Speaking on Eurosport’s Tennis Legends podcast earlier this week, Wilander acknowledged that his view on Murray got him in ‘a little bit of trouble.’ Nevertheless, the Swede has insisted that he fully backs the former world No.1.
“I’m pulling for him 100 percent. He has deserved it,” he said. “I think the interesting question is passion. Does Andy have the passion? And I think he does. I am 100 percent sure. But are you supposed to show it every time you go on court?”
Speaking on the same podcast as Wilander, former coach Ivan Lendl says he disagrees with the previous comments and argued that the history of wild cards doesn’t justify that they should be handed out to younger players. Lendl has worked with Murray during two separate periods. Between 2012-2014 he guided him to winning Wimbledon, the US Open and an Olympic gold medal.
“I think players like Andy Murray or Pete Sampras, before he won his last US Open, everybody was asking me, shouldn’t Pete Sampras retire? And I said, Pete Sampras has earned the right to retire when he wants to retire,” the 60-year-old commented.
“Let’s go a little bit back in the history of wild cards. The wild cards in general were given to the sponsors to get attractive players for the tournament. It turned somewhat towards young players, which is fine as well. But it’s nowhere written that it needs to be a young player, not somebody older.’
“To me, Andy Murray has earned the right to play when he wants to play, as long as he has a passion for it.”
After another season marred by injury, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic, Murray has only managed to play in four tournaments this year. Overall, he has won three out of seven matches played with his best run being at the Western and Southern Open where he defeated Alexander Zverev en route to the third round.
Murray is currently ranked 19th in the world.
Murray’s 2020 season
Western and Southern Open, New York
R1: Def Frances Tiafoe USA 7-6(6), 3-6, 6-1
R2: Def Alexander Zverev GER 6-3, 3-6, 7-5
R3: Lost to Milos Raonic CAN 2-6, 2-6
US Open, New York
R1: Def Yoshihito Nishioka JAP 4-6, 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(4), 6-4
R2: Lost to Felix Auger-Aliassime CAN 2-6, 3-6, 4-6
French Open, Paris
R1: Lost to Stan Wawrinka SWI 1-6, 3-6, 2-6
Bett1Hulks Indoors, Cologne
R1: Lost to Fernando Verdasco ESP 4-6, 4-6
