"Compared to what Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic achieved, it obviously is minuscule" - Andy Murray reflects on his French Open legacy after 1R exit

Andy Murray reflected on his French Open legacy after a 4-6, 4-6, 2-6 first-round loss to Stan Wawrinka at this year's edition of Roland Garros on Sunday, May 26. The Brit also compared his achievements at the prestigious clay court Major to those of rivals Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

Murray came into the 2024 French Open after a three-year absence at the Grand Slam. His last Roland Garros outing in 2020 had also ended with a first-round loss to Wawrinka.

This time around, Wawrinka asserted his dominance early on in each of the three sets by breaking the Brit. The Swiss' powerful shots proved too difficult for Murray to contend with, particularly the one-handed backhand. While the Brit did have break point opportunities of his own, he could not make the most of them.

Among active players, Murray is currently ranked fourth in terms of overall French Open wins. Following a heartwarming embrace at the net with Wawrinka, Murray attended a press conference. During the presser, the three-time Grand Slam winner was asked how proud he feels about his achievements at the French Open, considering that clay has never been his best surface.

In his response, Murray said that in comparison to Nadal and Djokovic's respective feats at the French Open, his achievements are "minuscule".

"I did really well here over the years. You know, a lot of the results and stuff that I think the issue for me is that when you compare it to, like, what Rafa or Novak achieved in the same time, it obviously is minuscule in comparison," Murray said.

The former World No. 1 went on to say that had he played in a different era, he could have achieved more at Roland Garros. Despite that admission, the Brit expressed his pride about everything that he managed to do at the tournament over the years. His best run at the tournament came in 2016 when he reached the final but lost to Djokovic.

"I lost to Novak in five, Stan in five, and twice to Rafa. Obviously no shame in that. In a different time maybe the results would have been a bit different. But yeah, I'm proud of the results that I had here. I had great memories," Murray added.

"I was unable to move and then I couldn't sleep that night" - Andy Murray on 2017 French Open semifinal loss to Stan Wawrinka

Stan Wawrinka (L) and Andy Murray (R) at the 2024 French Open

In 2017, Murray and Wawrinka clashed in the semifinals of the French Open, and it was the Swiss who progressed. For Murray, it was much more than a loss on one of tennis' most prestigious stages.

The Brit, who had been coping with a niggling hip problem since he was 22, realized the seriousness of the issue in the aftermath of the defeat. Murray recently revisited the harrowing experience at a press conference ahead of this year's French Open.

"I remember during that match, during the fifth set like kind of really feeling like I was unable to move and then I couldn't sleep that night," Murray said.

Ultimately, in 2019, Murray decided to go under the knife for a hip resurfacing surgery. While the surgery allowed him to extend his illustrious tennis career, he was never really the same player after returning to the sport.