Andy Murray pulls out of European Open in Antwerp in bid to finish season with ranking boost in Basel, Paris

Andy Murray has pulled out of this week’s European Open in Antwerp and will instead focus his efforts on a strong finish to the season in Basel and Paris. Murray, 35, won his most recent title in Antwerp in 2019. Ad However, after losing in the quarter-finals of the Gijon Open to Sebastian Korda last week, he has opted out of a return to Belgium.

ATP GijónMurray suffers Gijon Open quarter-final defeat14/10/2022 AT 21:42 According to the i newspaper, Murray has made the decision with one eye on earning a seeding spot at the 2023 Australian Open. Murray, who was drawn to face Jaume Munar in Antwerp, is currently ranked 46th in the world, 305 points behind world No. 32 Grigor Dimitrov.

The top 32 in the rankings are seeded at Grand Slams. Murray spent nearly seven hours on court in Gijon, which is an ATP 250 event like the European Open. The Swiss Indoors in Basel, which starts on October 24, is an ATP 500 tournament, which means it carries more ranking points than an ATP 250.

There will be even more points on offer in Paris, which is the final Masters 1000 tournament of the season. Former world No. 1 Murray has not been ranked in the top 32 in the world since early 2018.

Murray beaten by Korda in Gijon quarter-finals Swiatek hits fresh landmarks in San Diego win He plummeted down the rankings after undergoing hip surgery and has been working his way back up this season. However, his efforts to stack up wins have sometimes been impacted by difficult draws due to being unseeded. Murray has only managed to win three matches in a row on three occasions this season — Sydney at the start of the year, an ATP Challenger in Surbiton and Stuttgart, where he reached the final.