Andy Murray makes clay-court season U-turn after receiving Madrid Open wildcard

Andy Murray has reversed his decision to skip the entire clay-court season after being confirmed as a wildcard entry for the Madrid Open.

The 34-year-old Scot, had initially considered sitting out all matches on the surface, including the French Open, as he planned for the grass-court season and the rest of 2022.

However, he has now changed his plans and will be in action in the Spanish capital next week, where he is a two-time winner, and potentially at the Italian Open in Rome a week later. The 34-year-old looks unlikely to feature at the French Open, which starts late next month.

Murray, ranked 83rd in the world, has only played the French Open once since 2017, suffering a first-round exit in 2020 to Stan Wawrinka.

The three-time grand slam champion is eager to play competitively ahead of the grass-court season and plans to return to the UK to prepare for Wimbledon, which begins on June 27.

Murray’s last competitive action came in late March when he lost to world No 2 Daniil Medvedev in the second round of the Miami Open. He has lost in the second round in his last six tournaments

He recently reunited with coach Ivan Lendl, with the pair currently on the practice court in Florida. It is the third time the two have been working together, with each of Murray’s grand slam triumphs having come under the guidance of the 62-year-old.