Can Andy Murray and an expectant British public really dare to dream of a long Wimbledon run?
Not since here in 2017 when he hobbled out of the quarter-finals with an injured hip has he made any run of note at a Grand Slam.
Three third-round appearances have been Murray’s best since then and yet ahead of his all-British first-round match against Ryan Peniston, he was adamant that this year things are different.
For one, the hip is no longer troubling him, nor any other physical ailments for that matter. Plus, confidence is growing in his game on his favourite surface having had arguably his most ever time on grass in a Wimbledon build-up.
“I believe I’m one of the best grass-court players in the world and I’m physically feeling really good,” Murray said in the lead-up to the tournament. “I prepared well so there’s no reason why I can’t have a good tournament.
“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. There’s only one player in the draw that has more experience of playing here than me, which is Novak Djokovic.
“I feel very comfortable in these surroundings, I love coming to play the tournament here. When I walk out on to 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.”
Murray had set himself the target of being seeded for Wimbledon. His early exit at Queen’s meant that wasn’t achieved and he instead lies at 39th in the world.
But there have been back-to-back titles on the grass at Surbiton and then Nottingham, albeit at a level below the ATP Tour as challengers.
Murray is a two-time Wimbledon champion, winning the title in 2013 and 2016 as well as sealing London 2012 Olympic gold on Centre Court.
The 36-year-old is one of only two players to have repeatedly broken up the hegemony of the big three in Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Outside of that triumvirate, only Murray and Stan Wawrinka have won multiple Grand Slams, in their case three apiece.
And while Wawrinka, who won his opening-round match yesterday against Emil Ruusuvuori, said dreams of Grand Slam title No4 might be too much, he backed his fellow elder statesman of the game to roll back the years in front of his home crowd.
“Of course, everything is possible because Andy is a great champion and such a competitor,” said Wawrinka of the prospect of a deep run on the grass from Murray. “He’s been improving since he came back from his injury. This year’s he’s been winning a lot of matches.
“He missed the French Open to be ready for the grass. We all know how difficult it is to play him on the grass so of course everything is possible when he’s such a big champion. As for winning it, that I don’t know. You should ask him to know what his goal really is.”
Should, as expected, Murray come through his meeting with world No268 Peniston, he faces a potentially tough second-round match against either Stefanos Tsitsipas or Dominic Thiem.
At the start of the grass-court swing, Murray said he felt he was a match for anyone on the ATP Tour on his favourite surface, and he has stuck to that sense ever since.
Wawrinka, who emerged in the senior ranks at the same time as Murray, said his long-time friend would now be a nightmare opponent for any of the top players during the course of the Wimbledon fortnight.
“He’s a special player and he’s so difficult to play because he reads the game really well plus he’s such a fit guy,” said the Swiss. “He’s super-strong fitness wise and he always seems to find a way to get on top. He knows the game really well and, on grass, it’s always difficult to play against him.
“It’s really impressive to see what he’s doing and I really enjoy watching him play, he’s such an amazing player. He achieved everything in his career that a tennis player can achieve and it’s nice for the fans at Wimbledon to still see him play at such a good level.”
