Grabher against Navarro

Murray chaos: Ofner has to wait for opponent

Sebastian Ofner

(Bild: Birbaumer Christof)

Sebastian Ofner meets Dutch substitute Robin Haase at the Olympic tennis tournament!

The former Kitzbühel winner is ranked outside the top 1000 in the world rankings. The 37-year-old, who is competing in the doubles in Paris, only moved up into the singles field hours after the draw because Andy Murray withdrew at short notice. Julia Grabher was drawn to play Emma Navarro (USA-11).

Murray had qualified for the Games via one of two "wildcards" reserved for Olympic champions and former Grand Slam winners, while the other lucky man in the men's draw is Switzerland's Stan Wawrinka. Both have too poor a ranking to get in via the world rankings.

The Scot will now only compete in the doubles - with his compatriot Dan Evans. After this appearance, the injury-plagued 37-year-old will end his successful career, leaving the tennis stage as the overall second of the "Big Four" after the Swiss Roger Federer.

Murray won the Olympics in 2012 and 2016. The South Tyrolean world number one Jannik Sinner had already withdrawn completely on Wednesday due to tonsillitis - he was followed by Holger Rune from Denmark. The reason for the world number 16's withdrawal was wrist pain.

"This is the best clay court in the world!"
Despite his heel injury problems, Ofner wants to persevere, not least because the venue for the tournament is Roland Garros. "I feel comfortable there," said the 28-year-old. "It's not a real clay court. When it's warm and dry, it's almost like a hard court. That suits me. There's no bounce. It's the best clay court in the world."

"It's not about ATP points, it's about being there!"
Like Ofner, touring coach Stefan Rettl sees Paris as his "second home. He (Ofner, note) likes the courts, he likes the weather. It's cool that the event is taking place where we know our way around. It's not about ATP points, it's about being there, representing your country." If Ofner wins against Haase, the Russian number 4 seed Daniil Medvedev will probably be waiting in the second round.

The men's singles draw has a "cracker" in store for the second round, as top seed Novak Djokovic and Beijing Olympic champion Rafael Nadal would meet there if they win their opening matches. The German defending champion Alexander Zverev is in the same half of the draw.

In the women's draw, the No. 3 seed Rybakina withdrew a few hours after the draw on Thursday. The former Wimbledon winner from Kazakhstan withdrew from both the singles field and the mixed doubles competition, which she would have contested with Alexander Bublik. Meanwhile, Angelique Kerber announced that she would end her career after this tournament. The draw fairy didn't make it easy for the German, as she was drawn against Naomi Osaka from Japan.

Grabher was drawn against Navarro (USA-11)
Grabher will face Navarro for the first time and is a clear outsider against the world number 15. The Vorarlberg native returned to competitive tennis in the spring after a seven-month break following a wrist injury and has since only played at the lower ITF level, where she recently celebrated her first three victories.

Julia Grabher

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Navarro, who is five years younger at 23, recently reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon - her last clay tournament to date was at Roland Garros at the French Open, where she reached the last 16.