ANDY MURRAY will face Japanese opposition to start his final tennis tournament after confirming his withdrawal from the singles event at the Paris Olympics.
The two-time gold medallist is still not fully recovered from the back surgery he had last month and believes the men’s doubles, where he is playing with Dan Evans, offers his best chance of another medal.
Murray said: “I’ve take the decision to withdraw from the singles to concentrate on the doubles with Dan.
“Our practice has been great and we’re playing well together. Really looking forward to getting started and representing GB one more time.”
Murray and Evans are both experienced doubles players, although not together, but they look like having a decent chance of progressing through the first round at least after drawing Japanese pair Taro Daniel and Kei Nishikori. The day of the match will be revealed when the order of play is announced.
Murray, who won gold in singles in London and Rio as well as silver in mixed doubles with Laura Robson in 2012, confirmed earlier this week that he will retire after the Olympics.
Speaking at the draw ceremony at Roland Garros, the 37-year-old said: “The Olympics has been obviously incredibly special for me, I’ve had amazing memories on the court, especially in London, to win medals there was unbelievable.
“I’m really happy I get to do this one more time. It’s unfortunate, I trained the last few weeks to try to get ready to play singles and doubles but I’m getting a bit older now and it becomes harder to recover.
“I just ran out of time but I’m happy to be in the doubles with Dan. We play well together and I hope we can have a good run.”
Novak Djokovic, chasing the one major honour he has not yet won, is the top seed in the men’s singles in the absence of world number one Jannik Sinner, who withdrew on Wednesday with tonsilitis.
And there could be a blockbuster second-round clash between the Serbian and 14-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal after they were placed in the same section of the draw.
Nadal, who skipped Wimbledon to continue training on clay after a first-round French Open defeat to Alexander Zverev, will surely privately be cursing his luck again.
He said: “I’m always happy to be in this amazing city and of course this place. Roland Garros is, as everyone knows, the most special place for me in the world of tennis.
“I’m just excited to have the chance to be back here. This year I was not able to spend a lot of time at Roland Garros. The Olympics is completely different and I’m just trying to enjoy every moment.”
British number one Jack Draper takes on Nishikori while Cameron Norrie is almost certain to find reigning French Open champion Carlos Alcaraz waiting if he can make it past Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor in the first round.
Evans is prioritising doubles but has also entered the singles and will face Tunisian Moez Echargui.
Katie Boulter is Britain’s sole representative in the women’s singles draw and she will face Slovakian Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in the first round.
Four-time French Open champion Iga Swiatek will be the hot favourite for gold, with American Coco Gauff the second seed, while two former world number ones, Naomi Osaka and Angelique Kerber, will clash in the opening round.
Three-time grand slam champion Kerber announced on Thursday she is joining Murray in retiring after Paris.
Britain’s best hope for a medal comes in the men’s doubles, where fifth seeds Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski will play Czech duo Tomas Machac and Adam Pavlasek in the first round.
The blockbuster pairing of Nadal and Alcaraz take on Argentinian duo Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni, while Boulter and Heather Watson face a tricky tie against Germans Kerber and Laura Siegemund in the women’s doubles.
Salisbury and Watson will also compete in the mixed doubles.
