As the world of tennis gathered in Paris for the second Grand Slam tournament of the season late last month, Andy Murray chose a different path. After all, he plays at the highest level of professional tennis with a metal right thigh, so it is advisable to keep his body when he can.
While his opponents were still playing matches, he trained, built his form and got used to the grass long before most others, and throughout the week in Stuttgart his results had a good effect on his training. But on Sunday afternoon, in his first grass final since 2016, Murray’s tournament ended with some anxiety as he struggled with an abdominal injury and was defeated by Matteo Beretini, 6-4, 5-7, 6- 3.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t cross the border today, but there’s been a lot of progress over the last few weeks,” Murray said. “I look forward to the future and I feel much better in my game. I hope my body will last a little longer so I can continue to play games like this. ”
After reaching the final without missing a set, an even bigger challenge was for Murray in last year’s Wimbledon finalist Berettini, who returned from a three-month break after arm surgery. The Italian immediately had to gut Murray’s second serve to secure an early break, then dominated with his huge forehand and serve in the first set.
Throughout the second set, Murray kept his serve, but at 4-4 he faced three break points, as the match hung in the balance. Murray saved them all, he kept ahead when serving, and then his continued pressure on Berettini finally led to a breakthrough as Murray gave up love to force a third set.
The Stuttgart Open was Mateo Beretini’s first tournament since March. Photo: Bernd Wei’brod / AP
As soon as Murray equalized, the match was completely over. After a faulty home service game, Murray immediately called the coach. He failed to serve at full speed and then suffered another medical timeout in the middle of his serve at 2-4. Against one of the largest servers in the world, Lame Murray is fighting, but failed to make a further impression.
Murray then said it was an injury to his left abdomen that he suffered in the third set while serving, not an injury to his left thigh, as originally reported: “It’s been a really long time. [since] I played nine games in 14 days, “said Murray, who also played at Serbiton last week. “I also played from Thursday to Saturday last week and then from Thursday to Sunday here. So it’s probably normal to feel some things in my body, but I don’t really know the severity of it. I’ll have to check it out. I hope all is well.”
Murray is scheduled to compete at Queen’s in London, which begins on Monday, where he is drawn against Lorenzo Sonego.
But his playing presence is now clearly questionable given his physical problems. If he plays, Murray, who is now returning to the top 50 for the first time since 2018, will have a chance to be placed at Wimbledon with a deep drill in his homeland.
Stuttgart remains an extremely positive breakthrough for him. Over the past year, he has already shown that he can still compete well against the best players, but he often struggled to maintain the high level of the old and fought poorly on key points. Not only does he play at a constant, high level all his time in Germany, but these problems have disappeared.
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Overall, while a month’s break from touring helped him unlock a higher level, the heavy load on Murray’s body in his first week back apparently took its toll. The challenge for him, as always, is to stay healthy in order to benefit from the progress he continues to make.
Organizers of the Stuttgart Open are investigating Nick Kyrgios’ allegations that he was racially abused by spectators during his semi-final loss to Murray on Saturday.
Kyrgios, who refused to play during the second set until the supervisor intervened, lost 7-6 (5) 6-2. He later revealed on Instagram that he took revenge after hearing a racial insult.
“We are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all players, staff and visitors, where discrimination of all kinds is not tolerated. This attitude is lived by all involved and responsible people, “said a statement from the organizers.
In ‘s-Hertogenbosch, world number 205, Tim van Rietoven achieved one of the most notable titles in recent years, defeating world number 2 Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 6-1 and winning his first ATP title as a fitting sign in his homeland. .
The series for the 25-year-old Dutchman’s title included victories over Felix Oger Aliasime, ranked 9th, and 14th Taylor Fritz, second and third placed. He has never played in an ATP main draw or even faced a top 40 player before.
At home, Dan Evans defeated Jordan Thompson to win the Rothesay Open in Nottingham for the second time in three years.
The British number 2 was eliminated in the minor Challenger Tour to start his season on the grass and reap the benefits by regaining the title he won in 2019.
Evans missed a set all week, finishing his title series with a 6-4 6-4 victory over Thompson, who won the Challenger title at Serbiton last week.
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