Andy Murray might not be around the Tennis landscape at the moment, but make no mistake, he is one of the finest competitors the sport has seen in the last decade or so. According to the ATP official ranking, the 31-year-old is ranked 264th in the world and, since he has already terminated all his tennis-related businesses for the current season, that status won't change soon.
When it comes to future plans and next season scheduling, Andy Murray made an interesting choice. Although with a low rank of his own, he will headline the ATP 250 in Marseille, France.
An old rival joins Andy Murray at Open 13 in Marseille
Usually held in February, this tournament has never been on a top player's radar for years. Andy Murray won't be alone in there as another top player who has been struggling to get back to old form, is confirmed to make an appearance at Open 13 Provence in Marseille. According to tennisworldusa.org, Stan Wawrinka put Marseille on his schedule for 2019.
Based on their current ranking, and unless any major change occurs, Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka won't just be headlining this event, they could also be the subject to an early blockbuster.
A solid 21 matches record stands in-between Murray and Wawrinka. And, it's the Brit who leads by 11-8 in their head to head stats.
An interesting fact is that Andy Murray is a former champion in Marseille. Back in 2008, he lifted the trophy after beating Mario Ancic in the men's singles final.
At the time, Andy Murray was a young promising tennis star. The season of 2008 greatly impacted the way his career moved on. Winning in Marseille played a small but important part in his later development.
Later that year, he made it to the final of his first Grand Slam only to be a runner-u to Roger Federer at the 2008 US Open.
Andy Murray is looking to regain former glory
In the meantime, he has put three Grand Slam singles titles on his showcase along with eight other finals at this level. Two Olympic gold medals for singles are also part of the success story Andy Murray has put in play over the years.
The season of 2008 was indeed Andy Murray's breakthrough year on the ATP World Tour. Eleven years later, he will try to hit the reset button.
After a phenomenal finish back in 2016 that culminated with the year's end No. 1, the Brit quickly went off the big stages due to multiple injuries. A major hip issue hampered all of his efforts back in 2017, and although he started to compete again earlier this year, his results were way outside of expectations.
A constant top-five player for almost a decade, Andy Murray must have difficulty accepting the current state of affairs. He genuinely belongs in the top tier of men's tennis.
Let's see if 2019 brings in any changes or if any much-needed sunny days will arrive for the former world No. 1.