Stuttgart [Germany], June 12 : The three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray might not challenge for a third men's singles Olympic gold medal if he doesn't find a place in the doubles tournament.
The three-time Grand Slam winner and two-time Olympic champion is eligible to compete in the Games with two spots in the singles competition at the Games set aside for athletes who have previously won an Olympic or Grand Slam competition.
Murray lost to American Marcos Giron in the opening round of the Stuttgart Open on Tuesday, making his preparations for what is anticipated to be his final summer in the sport less fortunate.
"I need to see what happens with the Olympics. I'm not 100 per cent sure what the situation is there with the doubles yet and whether or not I will play if I just get in the singles. I don't know," Murray told reporters after his 6-3 6-4 defeat to world No 54 Giron as quoted by Sky Sports.
"My body didn't feel great playing on the clay in the last month or so. I had quite a few issues with my back, so I don't know if I would go just for singles. I need to wait a little bit and see on that," he added.
As per Sky Sports, Murray may not be able to play the doubles in Paris because Britain is expected to send Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski.
After hinting a retirement, the 37-year-old may potentially be nearing the end of his illustrious career. Before Wimbledon begins on July 1, he is scheduled to play at Queen's, where he dominated for a significant portion of his career. He hopes to play there longer than he did in Germany.
Earlier, Murray indicated that he would most likely not play beyond this summer with the two-time Olympic gold medallist dreaming of competing at the Paris 2024 Olympics before retiring from tennis.
"I'm likely not going to play past this summer. I get asked about it after every single match that I play, every single tournament that I play. I'm bored of the question, to be honest," Murray said as quoted by Sky Sports.
The tennis tournament in the 2024 Olympics will take place at the Roland Garros from July 27 to August 4.
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor