[Joe]

Andy Murray had a short stay at the rescheduled 2020 edition of Roland Garros, losing 1-6 3-6 2-6 in the first round to former champion Stan Wawrinka.



In a neat piece of symmetry, Murray's last competitive match on clay also came against Wawrinka at this tournament in 2017, albeit at the semi-final stage.

Time has moved on considerably for both men, though Wawrinka has returned to the seeding positions of Grand Slams after injury woes of his own. Murray was out-of-sorts today and was dispatched with ease by his Swiss friend.

In the first set, Murray's first-serve percentage languished at 21%. That was clearly never going to be left unpunished by Wawrinka, who can blast an opponent off the court even when they are serving well.

The Scot's service game improved as the match went on, but he couldn't find the high levels required to get back into the contest. In the end, Wawrinka hit 42 winners and strolled to the second round in a little over 90 minutes.

Murray's next scheduled competitive appearances will be at the Cologne double-header tournaments, to be held on indoor hardcourts from 12th October.

[ChrisMac]

So sad to watch, never a c'mon or let's go from Andy 

[waverlybear]

 Very sad.  How long do you think Andy will keep going? 

[marathonarthur]

So sad to watch, never a c'mon or let's go from Andy 

It was awful to watch but he will be back fighting. That is Andy Murray. I wonder if the angst of waiting for the Virus test result and the disturbance to his build up did not help him. If I was his coach I certainly would have him out warming-up his serve before any game. Perhaps something to stir his competitive nature too? He may do some of that but it did not show. Perhaps though Stan was a little too powerful at present for Andy at this time? I think that it was a problem with the young Canadian he played previously. He did not seem to get enough time to play some fairly standard shots.

Did you guys think those balls and the court conditions were also awful?  With that wind they should have kept the roof shut! Mind you it seemed a lot worse for Jo Konta on the other court but that is no excuse for her display lacking authority and composure. She is a top twenty player apparently.

[Aileen]

Here's Andy's reaction.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/54310498

I read somewhere (?) that he still intends to play in Cologne.

It looks like it wb -

https://www.firstpost.com/sports/french-open-2020-andy-murray-says-difficult-to-be-former-self-but-vows-to-keep-going-after-stan-wawrinka-rout-8859281.html

Did you guys think those balls and the court conditions were also awful?

I did, and from what I've read a lot of players are far from happy with them, including the introduction of a new heavier ball.   I think this article sums it all up very nicely - not just about the conditions but about the restrictions the players are having to put up with, although presumably the latter were no different in NY -
https://www.firstpost.com/sports/french-open-2020-roland-garros-in-cold-autumn-no-fans-sucks-water-to-celebrate-birthday-8859271.html

[althusser]

I also thought the conditions were terrible, looked so cold and damp plus the wind and those Wilson tennis balls seemed awful, you could here the sound when the racket hit the ball very heavy indeed. Andy will figure things out as he always does.

yes it is just  dismal. I got used to no crowd at the USO - but here you combine that with damp conditions, slow ball, slow court - feels rubbish really.