07 May 2023 , 15:08
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Andy Murray has won his first singles tournament since 2019 as he gears up for the French Open and Wimbledon.
The three-time Grand Slam winner hadn’t won a singles title since Antwerp almost four years ago, but ended that run beating Tommy Paul in three sets in the Challenger Aix En Provence final. The 35-year-old had already guaranteed himself a return to the world’s top 50 after winning through to the final in Aix-en-Provence.
Paul was his toughest competition however, coming into the tournament as the top seed. But after losing the first set 6-2, he roared back, winning the final two and dropping just three games in the process.
The victory in the second-tier tournament comes after the worst run of the former world number one’s career. Defeat in the first round at the Madrid Open was the seventh on the spin for Murray, 35, his worst ever patch of form on the ATP Tour.
But his exit allowed him to enter the competition in the south of France, and enabled him to lift his Challenger title in almost 18 years. It's the perfect preparation for the French Open which gets underway later this month, before all focus turns towards SW19.
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The Scotsman, who has undergone extensive hip surgery to prolong his career, is still confident he can compete with the world’s best on the biggest stage at Wimbledon.
"Certainly the beginning of the clay season hasn't been that easy for me, but normally after a few weeks, I start to feel better and play better," Murray said after crashing out in Madrid.
"I would like to play [Roland-Garros] because I don’t know if I'll get another opportunity," Murray added. "I also have ambitions of competing for Wimbledon titles and that sort of stuff.
Murray is back in the world's top 50"I know sitting here today that probably doesn't sound realistic but I do believe that's a possibility. It's impossible to say what the right thing to do is but obviously it's a Grand Slam [the French Open]. I would like the opportunity to play."
Murray heads to Roland Garros with aims of winning one of the two Grand Slam titles that have eluded him. But he arrives as a rank outsider having missed four of the last five French Opens, crashing out in the first round of the other.
Now very much in the twilight of his career, Murray continues to bat away questions regarding retirement, but has suggested it is only one serious injury away. But before hanging up his racket, the Scot has placed the French as one of the three tournaments he’s desperate to win before calling it a day.
“The Australian Open would probably be one of them [tournaments he wants to win],” Murray said.. “And the French Open. And on the tour, Indian Wells. I've always loved the tournament and always enjoyed coming back, so yeah, on the ATP tour - Indian Wells.”