Andy Murray branded a contentious poster of past and present Wimbledon greats a “disaster” as he highlighted the lack of prominence given to female players.
Two-time Wimbledon champion Murray was a notable absentee from the official All England Club artwork which features 15 famous players walking down a staircase.
Young pair Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz – neither of whom have made an impact at the Championships yet – stand in the foreground of the painting, followed by a selection of “epic” rivalries, beginning with Murray’s long-time competitors Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Of the six women depicted, only Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova are among the front 11 players, with the other four, including Serena and Venus Williams, at the back.
While Murray’s uncle and brother criticised his exclusion, the Scot insisted that is not the issue as he spoke about the poster for the first time since its release.
With a smile, he initially said: “It was a disaster, wasn’t it? I don’t need to elaborate any more on it, it’s pretty obvious if you see the poster.”
Asked about four of the front five groups of rivals being men, he continued: “That was what was slightly strange.
“I guess the players that are on the poster are ones that have had incredible careers and have been unbelievably successful at Wimbledon.
“But elsewhere are some of the greatest players of all time.
“For me, Alcaraz and Sinner are unbelievable players but it just seems strange that they were all sort of behind them.
“I personally don’t really care that much about it. But I can see when you look at it’s like, ‘that does look a bit strange’.
“Me not being on it is certainly not a problem.”
Murray’s final warm-up ahead of Wimbledon ended in a 6-4 6-4 loss to world number six world number six Holger Rune at the Giorgio Armani Tennis Classic.
The 36-year-old, who is ranked 39th, goes into his home slam unseeded and awaiting his fate in Friday’s draw.
While he would relish another meeting with reigning champion Djokovic before the end of his career, Murray is keen to avoid star names in the early rounds, albeit he is ready for that scenario.
“Ideally that wouldn’t happen right at the beginning,” he said of facing a top seed. “I would obviously want that to happen probably later in the tournament.
“But at the same time, because of the situation, I need to be prepared for that. I need to be ready to play against anyone right from the start.
“I’ve had some pretty tough first-round draws in the slams over the last couple of years so I need to to be ready for that and I think I am.
“Obviously, I would love to play against Novak again. I can’t remember the last time we played. It’s a long time ago.”
Murray moved well on court against 20-year-old Dane Rune at the Hurlingham Club but could not capitalise on his chances as he slipped to defeat.
Prior to last week’s first-round exit at Queen’s Club, he had won 10 successive matches in claiming back-to-back grass-court titles in Surbiton and Nottingham.
“Form-wise, I think has been good,” he said of his recent displays. “There are some positive signs there.
“Maybe the other players would see it differently but I don’t think there are loads of guys that would want to draw me in the first round. That’s a good place to be.”
Swiatek races into Madrid Open final with dominant win over Keys
Iga Swiatek cruised into her second Madrid Open final on Thursday, maintaining her ominous form by beating Madison Keys 6-1 6-3 within 71 minutes.
Swiatek had been forced to fight back from a set down against Beatriz Haddad Maia in the quarter-finals, but there was no slow start on Thursday as she broke Keys' serve to love at the first attempt.
Only in the fifth game, when Keys failed to convert two break points, was Swiatek troubled in a 31-minute opener, and she carried that momentum into the second set with another early break.
Having eliminated Coco Gauff and Ons Jabeur on a deeply impressive run, Keys had no answer for Swiatek's power as she clinically worked her way through the second set, the American's forehand running long on match point to seal a routine win for the world number one.
Having lost last year's final against Aryna Sabalenka, Swiatek could face a rematch against the defending champion, who takes on Elena Rybakina in Thursday's other semi-final.
Data Debrief: Swiatek surpasses Serena
Saturday's final will be Swiatek's 11th at WTA 1000-level, the Pole going all the way on 37.9 per cent of her 29 main-draw entries at that level. That is a better ratio than 23-time grand slam champion Serena Williams managed in her glittering career, the American doing so at 18 of 49 WTA 1000 tournaments (36.7 per cent).
Swiatek has now played eight matches in 2024 without dropping a single game on her own serve, a tally only matched by her possible final opponent Sabalenka on the WTA tour.
Top seed Sinner withdraws from Madrid Open ahead of quarter-finals
Jannik Sinner has withdrawn from the Madrid Open due to a hip injury ahead of his scheduled quarter-final clash with Felix Auger Aliassime.
The world number two was due to face Auger Aliassime for a place in the semi-finals after fighting back to overcome Karen Khachanov in three sets on Tuesday.
However, the Italian has been advised to withdraw to avoid aggravating an issue with his right hip, which he says has troubled him throughout the tournament.
Sinner, who is 28-2 for the season and won his first grand slam title at the Australian Open earlier this year, wrote on X: "Very sad to have to withdraw from my next match here in Madrid.
"My hip has been bothering me this week and has slowly been getting more painful. Taking the advice from the doctors, we decided it's best to not play further and make it worse."
Sinner's withdrawal means Auger Aliassime will advance to his first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final since 2022, with Daniil Medvedev or Jiri Lehecka – who eliminated Rafael Nadal on Tuesday – up next for the Canadian.
On the other side of the draw, two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz suffered a surprise exit at the hands of Andrey Rublev on Wednesday, with the Russian set to face either Taylor Fritz or Francisco Cerundolo in the last four.
Alcaraz sees Madrid Open reign ended by Rublev in last eight
Carlos Alcaraz saw his hopes of a third straight Madrid Open crown dashed on Wednesday, as Andrey Rublev fought back to seal a statement quarter-final win over the defending champion.
Alcaraz had been pushed close in the last 16 by Jan-Lennard Struff on Tuesday, requiring two tie-breaks to see off the German in three sets, and those exertions seemed to take their toll as he produced a below-par display on Wednesday.
Seven unforced errors from Rublev helped the home favourite take the opener, but he appeared to tire from there as his seventh-seeded opponent fired in 27 winners in a 4-6 6-3 6-2 victory.
Rublev broke Alcaraz's serve in the first and fifth games of the decider, also serving impressively to deny the Spaniard a single break point after a nervous first hold.
Alcaraz's exit ended home interest in the tournament, just one day after five-time champion Rafael Nadal was dumped out in the last 16 by Jiri Lehecka.
Speaking to Sky Sports Tennis, Rublev said: "I can't believe that I was able to stay calm throughout the match. I didn't say a word and even I'm impressed by that!
"I want to believe that I have been working on this because if not, then I'm stupid. I just thought to myself to keep trying, keep fighting, keep believing in yourself."
Data Debrief: Major scalp for Rublev
To say Rublev entered Wednesday's match as the underdog would be an understatement. Alcaraz was looking to become the first player to win three straight Madrid Open singles titles, and was 24-0 in Spanish clay-court events since the start of 2022.
Rublev, though, was not overawed by the occasion and punished a sluggish performance from the world number three. Wednesday's win was his first over a top-three opponent since 2022, and he will now face either Taylor Fritz or Francisco Cerundolo in the last four.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
