Madrid Open: Andy Murray loses to Andrea Vavassori, Kyle Edmund beaten by Dominic Thiem

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Andy Murray whacks his racquet against his container astatine the Madrid Open

Andy Murray says helium inactive wants to play astatine the French Open contempt his struggles connected clay continuing with decision by Italian satellite fig 164 Andrea Vavassori astatine the Madrid Open.

The British erstwhile satellite fig 1 mislaid 6-3 7-6 (9-7) successful the archetypal round.

It is his 2nd consecutive one-sided decision connected the clay aft being thrashed by Alex de Minaur successful Monte Carlo.

"I would similar to play [at the French Open] due to the fact that I don't cognize if I'll get different opportunity," Murray, 35, said.

Murray has played small connected the clay since returning from career-threatening hep surgery, though the 2015 Madrid champion did triumph 2 matches successful the Spanish superior past year.

This twelvemonth the satellite fig 52 has been targeting a instrumentality to the French Open adjacent month, which would beryllium his lone his 2nd quality astatine the Grand Slam tourney since helium reached the semi-finals successful 2017.

After the clay-court major, it is consecutive into the grass-court play wherever Murray has enjoyed a batch of occurrence successful the past.

The plaything culminates astatine Wimbledon, wherever Murray won 2 of his 3 large titles successful 2013 and 2016, successful aboriginal July.

"I besides person ambitions of competing for Wimbledon titles and that benignant of stuff. I cognize sitting present contiguous that astir apt doesn't dependable realistic, but I bash judge that's a possibility," said Murray.

"It's intolerable to accidental what the close happening to bash is [about playing the French Open], but evidently it's a Grand Slam. I would similar the accidental to play."

But the build-up to Roland Garros volition not person matched the Scot's lofty expectations.

Murray called the thrashing by Australia's De Minaur - wherever helium made 26 unforced errors and won conscionable 4 games - "awful" and "demoralising", adding it was 1 of the worst performances of his career.

Against Vavassori, who was making his debut successful a Masters 1000 event, Murray besides struggled to find his bushed and produced a batch of mistakes.

Murray saved 4 lucifer points successful the second-set tie-breaker - recovering 1 of them aft planting an overhead into the nett which near him crouching connected the tribunal successful disbelief - but handed implicit the 5th with different mediocre volley.

Murray's frustrations were clear. Throughout the lucifer helium regularly shouted astatine himself, threw his racquet astatine his container aft decision was confirmed and was inactive shaking his caput erstwhile helium near the stadium.

"It wasn't great," said Murray. "I started to play a spot amended towards the end, but the commencement was slow.

"He played precise good astatine the beginning, and he's serving huge. I surely struggled with that successful the beginning.

"Second set, I started to get into it a spot much and was playing a spot better, with immoderate affirmative signs. But immoderate of the errors are hard to explain."

Qualifier Vavassori, 27, said it was "a imagination travel true" to bushed the three-time Grand Slam champion and faces Russia's Daniil Medvedev - different erstwhile satellite fig 1 and 2nd effect - successful the 2nd round.

Dominic Thiem playing astatine the 2023 Madrid Open

Edmund, 28, is recovering from three genu operations and has mislaid each six ATP Tour matches successful 2023 arsenic helium continues his comeback.

The erstwhile satellite fig 14, present ranked 498th, mislaid 6-4 6-1 to 2020 US Open champion Thiem.

Thiem, 29, is besides gradually coming backmost from a superior wounded - a wrist occupation that ruled him retired for 9 months - and is 93rd successful the rankings.

"I emotion this court, I person immoderate unbelievable memories here, and that helped maine merchandise a spot and bash amended and better," said Thiem, a two-time runner-up successful Madrid.

"It's clip to enactment again connected that reputation. Once I was a pugnacious feline to bushed connected clay. It's not the lawsuit present but I'm feeling that I'm getting amended and backmost to shape."

Thiem volition look satellite fig 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas successful the 2nd round.

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