Andy Murray Takes a Sly Dig at Mats Wilander, Desires to Take a Wildcard at Olympics 2021

At the end of 2016, Andy Murray was at the peak of men’s tennis. The Briton had won his second Wimbledon title, his first-ever title at ATP Nitto Finals, and ended the season as the World No. 1 for the first time in his career. Unfortunately, Murray’s descent began the following year when he struggled with a severe hip injury and was forced to withdraw from the 2017 US Open.

Fast forward to 2020, and Murray’s lingering hip injury continues to impede his career growth. He still hasn’t recovered to his absolute best despite two hip surgeries over the past three years. Murray’s humiliating loss to Stan Wawrinka in the opening round at the 2020 French Open posed further questions on his ability to resurface.

With the Tokyo Olympics postponed to 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic, Murray hopes to receive a wildcard for this prestigious event. Currently ranked No. 131, the 3-time Grand Slam champion might get a wildcard if he remains under the top-300 rankings until June next year.

“Obviously as of right now, I wouldn’t get into the Olympics so I would have to ask for a wildcard, which I know there’s a few people out there that think I shouldn’t be getting any more,” said Murray.

Murray is the first tennis player in history to have won two singles gold medals at the Olympics. He won his first gold at the 2012 London Olympics when he defeated Roger Federer in the final. At the 2016 Rio Olympics. Murray downed Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro to win his second consecutive gold medal.

Andy Murray aims for another Olympic medal

During an interview, Murray revealed that Tokyo Olympics was one of his top priorities in the 2021 season and he will aim to win another medal. The international multi-sport event will begin on July 23 next year and it will be the 32nd edition of the Olympics.

“I’ll have to wait and see what happens with that but I would love to compete in the Olympics again, to get another opportunity to do that would be huge for me. It would be in the top few priorities for the year,” said Murray.

The Briton added that apart from the Tokyo Olympics, he would love to compete at next year’s Australian Open and the Wimbledon Championships if given an opportunity. Despite featuring in five finals at the Australian Open, Murray has lost each time.

“Obviously, I’d love to get the opportunity to play at Wimbledon again, same with the Aussie Open, and then, if I’m fit and well, I’d be pumped to go and try and win another medal in Tokyo,” said Murray.

Recently, seven-time Grand Slam champion, Mats Wilander, questioned Murray receiving wildcards. The Swede contended that Murray should stop thinking about himself and asked if Murray had the right to take the wildcard away from young players.

Murray seemed impervious to Wilander’s comments and asserted that the criticism would help him find extra motivation as he looks to build himself up physically for the new season, “I think anything like that it gives short-term motivation, it helps,” said Murray.