Murray confident that Sharapova will play at Wimbledon

[May 03, 2017]  (Reuters) - Maria Sharapova is still waiting to hear if she can play at the French Open later this month but men's world number one Andy Murray expects her to be at Wimbledon in July.

Sharapova returned last month from a doping ban to reach the semi-finals at the Stuttgart Open, but did not earn enough points to qualify for Roland Garros and is reliant on a wildcard for the qualifying tournament.

The French Tennis Federation will announce their decision on May 16.

Murray, however, said he expected the five-times grand slam champion would be on the grasscourts of south-west London.

"I think there's a good chance Wimbledon would give her one (a wild card) to get into qualifying," Murray told reporters at an event for June's Aegon Championships tournament at the Queen's Club in London.

"I think we've got to wait and see what happens because there might not even be a decision to be made because she might be in the main draw after Madrid or Rome, so there's a good chance she can get in by right."

The Russian can qualify for the main draw at Wimbledon by reaching the semi-final of either the Madrid or Rome tournaments.

The rankings deadline for Wimbledon qualification is May 29.

Maria Sharapova of Russia in action. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski

Murray, who sustained an injury in March, returned to action at the Barcelona Open last month and said he was feeling good as he looked ahead to Roland Garros.

"I feel much better than I did three or four weeks ago," he added.

"I feel like physically I am getting back to where I need to be and I feel like I am able to put in the work I need to, to be able to play my best tennis."

(Reporting by Aditi Prakash in Bengaluru)

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