CHRIS LEHOURITES
AP Sports Writer
PARIS (AP) — Moments after Andy Murray won his first match at the French Open in two years, he got an offer from a coach.
Or at least from someone who might be a coach someday.
Murray returned to Roland Garros on Tuesday after missing last year because of a back injury. He advanced to the second round by beating Andrey Golubev of Kazakhstan 6-1, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.
Before he walked off court, former player Fabrice Santoro interviewed Murray in front of the crowd at Court Suzanne Lenglen. One of the questions had to do with Murray’s lack of a coach, with Santoro saying he had a list of candidates.
“Are you one of them, or not?” Murray asked.
“You want my card? I’ll give you my card,” Santoro responded, handing his business card to Murray.
The seventh-seeded Murray has been without a coach since he parted ways with Ivan Lendl in March. But with Lendl by his side, Murray finally won a major title at the 2012 U.S. Open. Then he won the big one nearly a year later, becoming the first British man to win the Wimbledon title since Fred Perry in 1936.
At the French Open, Murray’s best performance was a spot in the semifinals in 2011. He reached the quarterfinals in 2012 before missing last year’s edition.
His next match at Roland Garros will be against Marinko Matosevic, a 28-year-old Australian who on Tuesday won a Grand Slam match for the first time in 13 attempts.
“I saw the end of the match,” Murray said of his next opponent. “I think he lost 11 or 12 in a row. … Yeah, he’s a good ball striker. He’s had some good wins on the tour as a result of maybe being a bit up and down.”
Matosevic advanced by beating Dustin Brown of Germany 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-7 (1), 7-5.
It was only his second match at Roland Garros. He also lost in the first round at the Australian Open five times, and three times each at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.
“It got pretty demoralizing at some stages. I had some tough draws,” Matosevic said. “When I did have my chances, I just couldn’t quite do it. Just really happy to do it today.”
Murray said Matosevic was good guy, calling him “interesting character, that’s for sure.” He said the Australian is always ready to make others laugh.
His wild side has earned Matosevic the nickname “Mad Dog.”
“From the time I have spent with him,” Murray said. “I’d say that’s a good name for him.”
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