Murray frustrated with fellow Brits not joining him at the top

LONDON - World number three Andy Murray has slammed Britain’s men tennis players for a string of “very poor” displays in 2009.

Murray, who takes on Italian Potito Starace in the second round of the French Open, is becoming increasingly frustrated at the lack of fellow countrymen joining him at the top of tennis.

Murray is once again the only Brit in the men’s draw here at Roland Garros with Alex Bogdanovic ranked a lowly 196, Josh Goodall 217 and James Ward 225.

Dan Evans, 19, is Britain’s best young prospect and while he won a Challenger tournament in Jersey in March, he has struggled since and is ranked at 316, The Sun reports.

Murray, who always felt that some Brits do not work hard enough, said: “We had three girls in the main draw here and that is great, but the guys need to step up. The first four, five months have been very poor. They have won so few matches. James Ward won a Challenger recently but before that had struggled.”

“Dan Evans has won a Challenger but since then has not done anything. It’s about sustaining it. It’s not about doing it one week, it’s about doing it 30-40 weeks a year,” he added.

Murray also becomes annoyed when he sees British players do well at Wimbledon then fail to continue the momentum.

Last year, 659-ranked Chris Eaton won three qualifying rounds at Wimbledon and then made the second round but has done little since. (ANI)