Andy Murray says rival Rafael Nadal is ‘unlucky’ to have had such a tough French Open draw but insists the tournament’s seeding is fair.
The unseeded Nadal, who has fallen to No. 276 in the world, faces fourth-seed Alexander Zverev in the first round.
Until 2019, Wimbledon adopted a seeding formula whereby players were ranked based on their previous performances on grass. But Murray says that is unique to the Championships because some players would often have little experience on the surface.
He says that Nadal, who has won 14 French Open titles and could be playing in his final tournament, has simply got ‘unlucky’ in the draw.
“I think it’s fair. I think the Wimbledon stuff was slightly different because lots of players wouldn’t play any grass court tennis and would kind of arrive there having not played any matches,” Murray said.
“There were periods where a lot of top clay courters didn’t even bother playing Wimbledon. So I think it’s different now. I think the vast majority of players commit to the majors and the Grand Slams and look the way the draw works, I mean bad luck for Rafa.”
The Briton added: “If [players] have been playing the whole year to achieve that ranking to miss on a seeding. So I think it’s bad luck what’s happened this time but the seedings are fair.”
