By Martyn Herman
LONDON (Reuters) – Andy Murray knows his way around the All England Club better than any player in Friday’s Wimbledon draw and while his career highlights may be behind him there will be plenty of seeds hoping to avoid the British favourite.
The 36-year-old former world number one, who plays with a partly metal hip after resurfacing surgery in 2019, has steadfastly refused to call time on his illustrious career.
He simply loves competing, especially on grass, and back-to-back titles at Surbiton and Nottingham after skipping the French Open illustrated that the hunger still burns intensely.
Those two title were on the Challenger Tour and a first-round exit against Alex de Minaur at Queen’s Club last week perhaps offered a dose of perspective for those predicting that Murray could perhaps challenge for a third Wimbledon title.
But after a week of rest, Murray will start his 15th Wimbledon confident of making a run if the draw is kind.
Despite climbing back to 39th in the ATP rankings, Murray will miss out on a seeding at Wimbledon but, barring being pitched against defending champion Novak Djokovic in the opening round, he believes he can give any player a run for their money.
“I feel I can beat most of the top seeds in the Wimbledon tournament because there are a lot of them that don’t feel comfortable on grass,” Murray said after his Queen’s exit.
“The sensations I’ve had in the last two weeks have been magnificent, not only in the competition, but also in training with some of the best opponents in the world.
“I know my level is there, I just need to take a few days off and dedicate 10 days to training with intensity and I’m sure I’ll be playing well on the first Monday of Wimbledon.”
A Murray run would cheer the host nation who urged him on to glory in 2013 and 2016 before injuries began to dog him.
Last year he bowed out in the second round to an inspired John Isner but, despite being a year older, he appears in his best shape since having career-saving surgery.
British number one Cameron Norrie, a semi-finalist last year, is perhaps the more logical bet for a British challenge in the men’s singles, but Murray’s game is tailor-made for the Wimbledon turf even if he perhaps lacks the power of some of the new generation led by Spain’s world number one Carlos Alcaraz.
Spain’s three-time Wimbledon quarter-finalist Feliciano Lopez is in no doubt Murray can be a dangerous floater.
“We should keep an eye on Andy,” Lopez told Reuters at this week’s Mallorca Open. “If he gets a good draw I think he can have a run. He hoped to be seeded but I think most of the seeds will not want to see Andy near them in the draw. I put him in the top 10 favourites.”
Whatever happens, Murray says he intends to be back at Wimbledon a few more times yet — a remarkable situation for a player whose career looked done four years ago.
“I know it’s not going to be going on forever but I have an idea of when I would like to finish and it’s not this year’s Wimbledon,” he told Sky Sports.
“I want to finish on the court where I feel I can still do myself justice and playing at a really high level. I definitely feel I can do that for a couple more years.”
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Ken Ferris)
