Marseille (Open 13) tournament director believes 3-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray is worth more than a player 15th or 20th in the world that is unknown to the fans.
Jean-Francois Caujolle, declared that he would prefer Murray over ATP #11, Alex de Minaur as the Scot can be broadcasted on the screens during prime time slot.
The ATP 250-level tournament director is former World No. 59 who founded the Open 13 in Marseille in 1993 and is managing the event to the date.
The indoor hardcourt tourney starts on February 5 and it will be mark its 32nd edition in 2024. The week long tournament will feature Murray who sealed his trophy at the tournament in 2008. In a disappointing start to his 2024 campaign, Murray has lost all three of his matches so far while also losing 8 of his last 9 competitive matches since September 2023.
Ahead of Murray’s Palais des sports de Marseille scheduled appearance, in an interview with French publication La Provence, Caujolle proclaimed that Murray is still a big draw at the ATP competitions.
“Andy Murray, like Matteo Berrettini and even Denis Shapovalov, these are names. They have a quality of play, a presence. Having Murray is nice, it’s great,” the Marseille-born former tennis star said.
“Murray is worth more than a 15th or 20th in the world that the general public doesn’t know. Between Murray and Alex De Minaur, I prefer to have Murray. He’s a guy you put on prime time.”
The eight players who will be seeded in Marseille draw are Hubert Hurkacz, Grigor Dimitrov, Karen Khachanov, Ugo Humbert, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Lorenzo Musetti, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Jiri Lehecka.
The Brit who currently sits #49 in the ATP rankings, suffered a disappointing three-set defeat to world No 112 Benoit Paire in the Montpellier this week.
The loss led some observers to question whether Murray should continue the tour and keep losing, with one article on the BBC Sport website suggesting the 2-time Wimbledon champion and former World No. 1 may be ‘tarnishing’ his legacy by not quitting.
In a post on X / Twitter, the two-time Olympic champion clamped back at the story and asserted that he will not bow down: “Tarnishing my legacy? Do me a favour. I’m in a terrible moment right now I’ll give you that.
“Most people would quit and give up in my situation right now. But I’m not most people and my mind works differently. I won’t quit. I will keep fighting and working to produce the performances I know I’m capable of.”