Early exits didn’t used to be the tournament norm for Andy Murray.
When the then-defending champion was knocked out in the opening round of Queen’s by Jordan Thompson in 2017, it was the beginning of the hobble to surgery. Playing on one good hip, he made it to the quarter-finals of the subsequent Wimbledon but the body was never the same again before undergoing the knife.
That Thompson should be on the other side of the net in their second-round match today at what could be a Queen’s farewell seems apt.
Murray has skipped from one Australian to the next having fought off the challenge of Alexei Popyrin on Tuesday evening. The 37-year-old has struggled to string together a run of results and there were points when he appeared to be wincing in pain against Popyrin before coming through 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
There were many of the usual Murray hallmarks of a grasscourt match: an injury worry, remonstrations with the umpire, self-loathing, shouts of “let’s go” and no shortage of fan interaction. Both he and Thompson know a similar atmosphere lies in wait in what is the third match on Centre Court at Queen’s on Wednesday.
Looking back on his home support yesterday, Murray said: “It was brilliant, a brilliant crowd. I tried to engage them as much as I could. I have always enjoyed that and to create a bit more of an atmosphere on the court and tried to do that today. And the crowd supported really well.”
For the tournament’s five-time champion, it was a 1,000th ATP Tour match, a facet he was not aware of until informed by his mother Judy the day of the match.
He allowed himself to revel in the longevity of it all while also pondering the physical toll it has taken on his body, simply replying: “I’ve had a very long career and it’s been really, really good to me. But, yeah, it’s been tough on the body as well.”
Even now in the final days of his career, he is still relishing the new experiences, delighting in the chance to practice on grass with Carlos Alcaraz and come off with the win.
Alcaraz lies in wait for Jack Draper on Thursday after the newly crowned British No1 followed up his first ATP Tour title in Stuttgart with a comfortable 6-3, 6-2 win over Mariano Navone.
