Andy Murray pays tribute to London terror victims after Paris win

Sexism row and homophobic comments overshadow French Open

31 May

There have been several notable exits in the first round of the French Open, including that of British star Johanna Konta and women's number one seed Angelique Kerber.

But the departure of world number 287 Maxime Hamou has grabbed the headlines at Roland Garros after he lost his opening match and was then banned from the tournament for fondling a female reporter during an interview.

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After losing to Pablo Cuevas in the first round, Hamou was interviewed by Eurosport journalist Maly Thomas. During the interview he put his arm around her neck and repeatedly moved in to try and kiss her.

His performance prompted "laughter and clapping" in the studio, reports The Guardian, but Thomas said afterwards: "If I hadn't been live on air, I would have punched him."

The 21-year-old Hamou has now had his accreditation revoked by the French Tennis Federation (FFT) "following his reprehensible behaviour with a journalist".

The player has issued an apology on Facebook, but "could face further sanctions upon a review of the incident by the FTT's disputes committee", says the Guardian.

Despite sniggering in the studio during the incident, "Eurosport condemned Hamou's behaviour and issued their own apology to viewers", reports The Times.

"The behaviour of the interviewee was highly inappropriate and we do not condone such conduct in any way," said the station.

The Hamou incident is not the only off-court distraction at Roland Garros, where Andy Murray has produced some of his best tennis this year. He saw off Andrey Kuznetsov in the first round and then waded into the row over comments by Australian Grand Slam legend Margaret Court about gay marriage.

Court, who is 74, spoke out against same-sex marriage last week after it emerged that she was boycotting the airline Qantas "where possible" because of its support for gay marriage.

Now a Christian pastor who has an arena named after her at the Australian Open, Court also said that transgender children were the work of "the devil". She followed this up by claiming that the women's game is "full of lesbians".

"Grand Slam winners Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King have called for her name to be stripped from the venue at Melbourne Park," reports the BBC. "And former world number four Sam Stosur hinted on Tuesday that players might refuse to play at the arena at next year's tournament.

"World number one Andy Murray said at the French Open on Tuesday he hoped the issue could be resolved long before next year's Australian Open."

Speaking after his game against Kuznetsov, Murray said: "I don't see why anyone has a problem with two people who love each other getting married. If it's two men, two women, that's great. I don't see why it should matter."

French Open: Struggling Andy Murray avoids Djokovic and Nadal

26 May

After struggling for form and battling illness in the run-up to the French Open, Andy Murray has been handed a relatively kind draw at Roland Garros. The Scottish tennis star will not have to face Rafa Nadal or Novak Djokovic until the final – if he makes it that far.

Although the world number one, who turned 30 earlier this month, "can have few quibbles" with the draw "he will still be wary" of his first-round opponent, Russian Andrey Kuznetsov, who is ranked 85 in the world, says Stuart Fraser of The Times.

Murray lost to Fabio Fognini, the world number 135, in his last match. He has lost four out of eight matches on clay this season.

The Scot "will hope the best-of-five-sets format allows him to rediscover the form that carried him to the final at Roland Garros 12 months ago", says the Daily Telegraph.

"Potential danger lurks in round three in the shape of 29th seed Juan Martin del Potro, should he recover from injury problems in time," adds the paper.

If he reaches the last four he is likely to face Stan Wawrinka.

With Roger Federer absent, the other half of the draw sees clay specialist Rafa Nadal on a collision course with Novak Djokovic, whose erratic form has deflected attention away from Murray.

"While scrutiny on Novak Djokovic and his new coaching experiment with Andre Agassi has been intense, less has been said outside Britain about Murray's low-key performances on clay," explains Kevin Mitchell of The Guardian.

Boris Becker believes this could be to Murray's advantage. Yet the German still ranks Djokovic, who he once coached, above Murray as the main challenger to Rafael Nadal, who is in sight of his tenth French Open and has a 17-1 record on clay this year.

Becker has also expressed surprised that Murray was only reunited with coach Ivan Lendl this week. "I think, if both were honest, the gap between Melbourne and the French was maybe a little long," he told the Guardian.

There is plenty for Lendl to work on, says Charlie Eccleshare in the Telegraph.

An elbow injury has dented Murray's confidence in his serve, he says, and his coach must also encourage him to be more aggressive with his forehand.

The world number one must also be handled carefully ahead of the tournament. A bout of shingles took its toll on Murray earlier this year and a brutal pre-season training camp could have done more harm than good.

"To stand a chance in Paris, Murray needs to have got the balance right between doing sufficient physical preparation and not overexerting himself," says Eccleshare.

Lendl's other challenges revolve around Murray's mentality. Keeping the Scot feeling positive on court has always been a struggle, while he must also maintain his focus.

"On the energy-sapping Roland Garros clay, any of Murray's frequent lapses in concentration could prove fatal."

Roger Federer to miss French Open as he prepares for Wimbledon

16 May

Roger Federer has announced that he will not play at this year's French Open. Instead he will focus his efforts on winning an eighth Wimbledon title.

The Swiss tennis star has enjoyed a wonderful return to form this year, winning the Australian Open in January at the age of 35. It was his 18th major win and his first since 2012.

But Federer has not played any tennis since claiming the Miami Masters title in early April. Keen to maintain his late-career resurgence, he has made it clear he needs to manage his workload.

Despite winning 19 of his first 20 matches this year, Federer announced after beating Rafael Nadal in Miami that he would miss much of the clay-court season.

"Yesterday, Federer decided to go one step further and withdraw from Roland Garros, the second grand-slam tournament of the year, which begins in Paris on May 28," reports Stuart Fraser of The Times.

It will be the second year Federer has missed the French Open after pulling out last year with a back injury. Instead he will begin preparations for the grass court season.

"Federer's focus now is on his bid to become the oldest player to win the men's singles title at Wimbledon in the Open era. Arthur Ashe is the record-holder after defeating Jimmy Connors in the 1975 final at the age of 31."

It makes sense, as clay has always been Federer's weakest surface – his win record at Roland Garros is a meagre 80 per cent. What's more, the Swiss player "has had much success since returning at the start of this year with his quick and aggressive style, and even his arch-rival Rafael Nadal admitted recently that it made sense for him to avoid clay".

Federer is also enjoying himself off court, says Vicki Hodges of the Daily Telegraph, and his decision to skip Paris appears to have little to do with side-stepping another clash with Nadal on the Spaniard's favourite surface.

A look at Federer's social media output since he took a break from the game suggests "that the dirt of Roland Garros has been far from at the forefront of his mind".

"The former world number one has appeared to slip back into semi-retirement", since April says Hodges, playing exhibition matches, promoting his Roger Federer Foundation charity and even attending the Met Gala.

"Time away from the court has brought out the jovial side in Federer," she adds.

The Swiss tennis legend is likely to have his game face back on when he returns to the court next month with another Wimbledon crown in his sights.