World No 1 Andy Murray has been struggling to replicate the form he showed last year that got him the No 1 spot in the ATP rankings. The Scot has just managed to win one title in 2017 which was in Dubai. He lost in the finals of the Qatar Open, semi-finals of the Barcelona Open and suffered early exits at the Australian Open, Indian Wells and at the Monte Carlo Masters.
Murray received a knighthood for his services to tennis and charity at the end of 2016 after he had an outstanding 2016 which saw him win Wimbledon for a second time, defend his Olympic singles title in Rio and become the world No.1 after he defeated Novak Djokovic.
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After such an outstanding 2016, which saw Murray climb to the summit of men's tennis, he was expected to continue that form this year but has been nowhere near his best. The Scot has been struggling a lot to get back to the form he showed last year and he has also been struggling with an elbow injury.
After early exits at the Indian Wells and Monte Carlo Masters, Murray put in a decent performance at the Barcelona Open where he reached the semi-finals. He will be expected to build on that performance in the coming tournaments and denied that him being honoured with a knighthood and his ranking is the reason for his poor form.
"I think that was more like at the end of last year. All that stuff felt a bit different to me. I'm now getting asked about it every week. It's almost like trying to find a reason for why this year hasn't been as good as the end of last year, but it did not have anything to do with being world No1, in my opinion," the Guardian quoted Murray as saying.
"Maybe now when you lose No1, it's a bigger story. It feels like each time you lose, it's treated like more of a surprise. But I have lost early in Monte Carlo before, I've lost early in Indian Wells before, I've started clay-court seasons badly, I've had difficult runs and I also wasn't No1, so I really don't think it's to do with that."
Apart from talking about his own form, Murray also gave his opinion on Maria Sharapova and her wild card entries into Stuttgart, Rome and Madrid. The Russian, who was banned for 15 months due to a failed drug test made her return to the court at the Stuttgart Open and is set to do the same in Rome and Madrid as she looks to qualify for the French Open later this year.
Murray said that the French Open and Wimbledon can do "whatever they want" regarding Sharapova and her wild card entry into the tournament, but added "there is something to be said for working your way back up" the rankings.
The Scot feels that Sharapova will get into the French Open and given how she played at Stuttgart, she will definitely be inside the qualification ranking for Wimbledon. The five-time Grand Slam winner needed to reach the final in Stuttgart to be eligible for French Open qualifying but she lost in the semi-finals.
"She is obviously playing well. It looks like there's a good chance after Madrid or Rome she will definitely be inside the qualification ranking for Wimbledon. The French are going to make their decision soon [on May 15]. It looks like it is only going to be a matter of time before she is in the main competition by right anyway, based on how she played last week," Murray said.
