Andy Murray will not take a rest from clay court season just yet as the Brit received a wildcard entry to the upcoming Aix-en-Provence ATP Challenger event.
Murray has endured a troubling start to the 2023 clay court season and his disappointing run continued with a first-round defeat at the Madrid Open against Andrea Vavassori. The early exit followed a poor showing at the Monte Carlo Masters, where the 35-year-old crashed out after a straight sets loss against Alex de Minaur.
In a bid to improve his form and regain some consistency to his game, Murray will compete at the Aix-en-Provence ATP Challenger, which begins on Monday, May 1. Journalist James Gray confirmed Murray's entrance via Twitter and said the three-time Grand Slam champion will compete on a wildcard.
"No rest for Andy Murray - and he is staying on the clay, for now. He has been given a wildcard for the Aix-en-Provence ATP Challenger event which starts next week."
It is likely that Murray is targeting the Challenger event at the beginning of May as he aims to get ready for the 2023 Roland Garros, which begins on Sunday, May 28. Murray recently expressed his desire to compete again at Roland Garros this season as it may be his last chance to enter the competition. It's already his second entrance to the ATP Challenger event, as earlier this week he signed up for a tournament in Bordeaux.
However, the 35-year-old has not featured at the French Open since 2020, where he entered on a wildcard and was eliminated in the first round by Stan Wawrinka. The former world number one's best performance at Roland Garros came in 2016 when he reached the final but eventually lost against Novak Djokovic.
2023 Open Aix Provence ATP Challenger Entry List:
| Seed | Name | Seeding Ranking | Entry Ranking |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richard Gasquet | 43 | 43 |
| 2 | Brandon Nakashima | 44 | 44 |
| 3 | Adrian Mannarino | 46 | 47 |
| 4 | Mikael Ymer | 50 | 51 |
| 5 | Roberto Carballes Baena | 53 | 49 |
| 6 | Alexander Bublik | 55 | 53 |
| 7 | Gregoire Barrere | 56 | 57 |
| 8 | Tomas Martin Etcheverry | 59 | 59 |
| Albert Ramos-Vinolas | 60 | 50 | |
| Marcos Giron | 61 | 67 | |
| Jason Kubler | 63 | 70 | |
| Quentin Halys | 66 | 66 | |
| Cristian Garin | 73 | 84 | |
| Nuno Borges | 74 | 63 | |
| Luca Van Assche | 86 | 88 | |
| Alexandre Muller | 94 | 96 | |
| David Goffin | 95 | 85 | |
| Roman Safiullin | 112 | 104 | |
| Otto Virtanen | 114 | 114 | |
| Jurij Rodionov | 119 | 119 | |
| Arthur Fils | 124 | 122 | |
| Andy Murray (WC) | |||
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