May 17, (THEWILL) – Andy Murray suffered a heavy 6-3 6-0 defeat in his opening match at the Bordeaux Challenger, losing in straight sets to Stan Wawrinka.
The former world number one won just six out of 21 second-serve points and gave up 12 break-point chances, four of which were converted by Wawrinka. The defeat will be a blow to Murray, who was hoping to build momentum ahead of the upcoming French Open.
Murray’s performance was a far cry from his last Challenger Tour outing, where he won the title, as THEWILL reported. Wawrinka, who was also looking for a positive showing after losing early in the Italian Open, broke Murray in the fourth game of the first set and never looked back. The Swiss former French Open champion won the first set 6-3, and then raced through the second set, winning it 6-0.
Murray will now turn his attention to the French Open, which starts on May 28. He has only made one appearance at the tournament since reaching the semi-finals in 2017, losing in straight sets to Wawrinka in the first round in 2020. Despite the disappointing result in Bordeaux, Murray may still have the chance to play on clay again next week.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
