Andy Murray suffered a shocking first-round exit at the Madrid Open on Thursday, losing 6-2, 7-6(7) to qualifier Andrea Vavassori. Despite the gap in prestige, the world no. 164 successfully ousted the three-time Grand Slam champion in straight sets. This result follows a similar early exit for the former world no. 1 at the Monte Carlo Masters two weeks ago. After 12 previous appearances in Madrid, this is the first time the two-time title holder has crashed out in the first round.
Vavassori took immediate control in the first set, breaking the world no. 52 twice to establish a 4-0 lead before comfortably serving the set home. In the second set, the Italian again broke early to lead 2-1, but a series of unforced errors gave Murray the opening he needed to claw back and tie the game at 4-4, sparking a passionate celebration from the Briton.
The closing moments were tense; the 27-year-old Italian missed four match points during the tie-break, including a double fault and hitting the net, as Murray used his experience to stay in the match. Ultimately, Vavassori seized his fifth opportunity to win when Murray committed a costly error at the net.
Looking ahead, Murray expressed his desire to compete in next month's 2023 French Open, which would be his first appearance there since 2020. The 35-year-old has rarely played at Roland Garros since his 2017 semi-final run, with his last outing three years ago ending in a first-round loss to Stan Wawrinka. Despite this, Murray feels he could be competitive on the Parisian clay.
The 2016 finalist explained that he wants to play simply because he isn't sure how many more chances he'll have in his career. He mentioned that as long as he feels healthy and fit, he wants to give it his best shot. He also admitted to still harboring dreams of winning at Wimbledon; while he acknowledges that such goals might seem unrealistic to others right now, he believes it is still a possibility.
Murray emphasized that he wants to make the right decision regarding his participation. While he admits it's hard to know for sure what that is, he noted that because it's a Grand Slam, he really wants the chance to compete.
Elsewhere in the tournament, Dominic Thiem of Austria cruised to a 6-4, 6-1 win over Kyle Edmund, setting up a second-round encounter with Stefanos Tsitsipas, the runner-up of the Barcelona Open.