Andy Murray maintains ‘ambitions of competing for Wimbledon titles’ despite Madrid Open exit

Andy Murray has defiantly backed himself to compete to win at Wimbledon, despite being in the midst of one of the worst runs of form in his career.

The former world No 1 crashed out in the first round of the Madrid Open on Thursday to unheralded Italian Andrea Vavassori, marking just the second time Murray had been defeated on clay by an opponent outside the top 100. 

Defeat in the Spanish capital stretched Murray’s winless streak on the ATP Tour to four, equalling a career-worst run as a professional for the 35-year-old.

Murray has also recently endured first-round exits in the Miami Open and the Monte Carlo Masters, losing to Dusan Lajovic and Alex de Minaur respectively.

However, despite his disappointing form on the court as of late, Murray insisted following his defeat that he still believes that he is capable of competing at the highest levels of the sport.

‘Certainly the beginning of the clay season hasn’t been that easy for me, but normally after a few weeks, I start to feel better and play better.

‘Obviously last year, I’m not saying I came here and played unbelievable tennis straightaway, but I was playing well enough to win matches… against good players, top players.’

Murray also insisted that he intends on playing in next month’s French Open, a competition that he came agonisingly close to winning in 2016, before being defeated in the final by Novak Djokovic.

‘Whilst I feel fit and healthy, I would like to give it a go,’ he said. 

‘But I also have ambitions of competing for Wimbledon titles and that sort of stuff and, I know that sitting here today that probably doesn’t sound realistic, but I do believe that that’s a possibility.’