30 January 2023 , 16:24
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Tennis legend Andy Murray will take some more time off before returning to the court.
The 35-year-old produced some of the most outstanding performances at this year’s Australian Open - playing a staggering total of 14 hours over the course of three matches at Melbourne Park.
The two-time Wimbledon champion was left exhausted after his heroic exploits Down Under and after being handed a wildcard to compete at next month’s Rotterdam Open, he has since withdrawn from the event.
The tournament’s official website made the announcement, while also confirming who will replace Murray, who won the Rotterdam title in 2009. “Tallon Griekspoor will participate in the ABN AMRO Open with a wildcard,” they wrote.
“The number 2 in the Netherlands takes the place of Andy Murray, who has decided to reschedule the next part of his season after the Australian Open. Murray, after some great but exceptionally long matches in Australia will, after recovery, take part in a training block to build on his momentum ahead of a busy year.
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“This created a free wildcard, which was initially accepted by him.” Griekspoor won his first ATP title in Pune in the leadup to the Australian Open, before reaching the third round at the first Grand Slam of the year. He lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas, who went on to reach the final.
Rotterdam’s tournament director Richard Krajicek was disappointed to lose Murray but pleased a home favourite will now be involved. "We consider it a blessing in disguise. On the one hand, it is a pity that Andy Murray will not be present,” the 1996 WImbledon winner said.
“On the other hand, I am glad that we can admit Tallon to the main draw. He is the man in form and I think he can show great things in the ABN AMRO Open.” In his first round match at the Australian Open, Murray rolled back the years by going for more than five hours to beat 13th seed Matteo Berrettini in five sets.
But that was nothing compared to his second round win, which signified the longest match of the former world number one’s esteemed career. Trailing by two sets to home favourite Thanasi Kokkinakis, Murray launched an amazing comeback, with the clock running past 4am before he eventually prevailed in five hours 45 minutes.
Andy Murray was understandably left exhausted following his arduous Australian Open campaign (AFP via Getty Images)His resistance was broken by Roberto Baustisa Agut in round three and as 2023 rolls on, Murray’s immediate priority is to get his ranking up to a position where he will be seeded for tournaments. Despite his herculean efforts Down Under his ranking has only marginally improved and currently sits at 64 in the world. “Obviously in the last few years some of the draws at the Slams have been very tricky," he said.
"I was quite clear that it was something I wanted to do last year to try and get into the seeded spots. It didn't quite happen. If I was playing at this level last year, I probably wouldn't be ranked fifty or sixty in the world.” He added: “I felt good about the way that I was playing,” he said. “It’s more enjoyable for me when I’m playing like that, when I’m coming into a major event and really believing that I can do some damage.
“But I can have a deeper run than the third round of a slam, there’s no question about that. Obviously draws can open up for you. I need to also help myself with that.”