‘Only Djokovic has more Wimbledon experience than me’: Murray’s ‘advantage’ as he hopes to end 7-year Grand Slam drought

Andy Murray has established himself as a crowd favourite for many tennis fans, and that love isn’t felt stronger anywhere than at Wimbledon, where the Scotsman is a two-time champion. Wimbledon had been awaiting success for a Britisher for nearly 90 years before Murray became the champion at Wimbledon 2013, and although he isn’t at the same level as a decade ago due to injuries taking their toll, he is certainly in good form and capable of making a run.

With grass becoming a surface which is increasingly uncomfortable for younger tennis players, Murray’s expertise on the surface serves him well. He is fresh off winning two Challenger Tour events on the surface, and is in good touch heading into Wimbledon.

Speaking to ATP.com, Murray commented on his form and what he thinks about his chances at Wimbledon, and was optimistic about how he could fare. “I want to go out there and perform at a level that I’m happy with. I do feel like I’m in a really, really good position to do that. I have the experience at this tournament, playing on the big courts here,” he said.

Murray won his second Wimbledon in 2016, in a year that saw him clinch world number one, and the most successful season of his career. However, he has been burdened by significant injuries to his hip and ankles ever since. He missed significant time in the following years, and his comeback hasn’t yielded great results. However, his fortunes seem to be improving, and he enters the tournament as a dangerous veteran.

“There’s only one player in the draw that has more experience of playing here than me, which is Novak. I need to use that to my advantage and use my experience to my advantage and take confidence from that,” said the current world number 37. He lost out to John Isner in last year’s tournament, and Denis Shapovalov the year before, but isn’t letting that hinder his belief in performing better this year.

“I do believe I’m one of the best grass-court players in the world, and I’m physically feeling really good. I prepared well, so there’s no reason why I can’t have a good tournament,” said Murray, who had an impressive victory in 5 sets over Matteo Berrettini at the Australian Open, following it up with a comeback from 2-0 down against Thanasi Kokkinakis.

“It’s always been the most important tournament for me in the year,” said Murray of Wimbledon. “Regardless of how I was feeling coming in, I would always do my best to be ready for this one, even if there were some physical issues, niggles, what have you. I’d always give my best.” Murray skipped much of the clay season to instead take time to recover and prepare for Wimbledon, illustrating how important being ready for the Championships is for him.

“But obviously as you get towards the latter stage of your career, you want to make the most of these opportunities because you don’t know how many more times they’ll be here. I feel very comfortable in these surroundings. I love coming to play the tournament here. When I walk out onto Centre Court to play, obviously I’m very nervous, but incredibly excited to get the chance to perform here again on one of, if not the most special court, in our sport,” said the Scot, the only player in the draw to have beaten Djokovic at Wimbledon.

“I always really look forward to it. I’m feeling already, a couple days out from the tournament, a bit nervous and stuff, which is always a really positive sign to me when I feel that way. Hopefully that bodes well for the event,” concluded Murray.

The hometown favourite isn’t the highest ranked Britisher, an honour that goes to last year’ semi-finalist Cam Norrie. However, Murray will fancy his chances at a deep run. He begins against countryman, wildcard Ryan Peniston, who has enjoyed a strong grasscourt season with victories over top 10 opponents Casper Ruud and Holger Rune.

Should he win, the second-round match-up would be a blockbuster against Stefanos Tsitsipas or Dominic Thiem — two big names, but both of whom have been struggling recently and don’t favour grass as a surface. Victory there could open up a deep path in his quarter of the draw, and something of a fairytale run for the local favourite.