Tim Henman has tipped Andy Murray to overcome his form and fitness struggles and shine at Wimbledon this summer.
Murray, 34, returned to the Australian Open this month after a three-year absence, during which time he underwent a second bout of hip surgery and was on the verge of retirement.
The Scot warmed up for the first Grand Slam of the season by reaching the final of the Sydney International, and then further raised optimism over his hopes by coming through a five-set thriller with Georgian player Nikoloz Basilashvili.
However, in the second-round he was humbled by Japanese qualifier Taro Daniel, going out in straight sets, and afterwards raised question marks over his future by admitting the prospects of early exits in major tournaments didn't 'excite him'.
Murray will still be a huge draw for fans at SW19 though, and pundit Henman has backed him to impress at a tournament he has famously won twice in the past.
“I think he’s still making big strides in his game. With the hip surgery that he’s had, the amount of tennis that he’s missed over the last three and a half to four years has been massive,” Henman told Eurosport .
“Now he’s starting to build consistently, he might not always be having the results that he wishes and then the expectations that he’s got. But for me, the important element is that he’s not having interruptions to his training, to his tournament schedule."
“I think when you reflect on some of his matches, last year in the Slams, he won a couple of amazing matches at Wimbledon, had an incredible match against [Stefanos] Tsitsipas at the US Open. I think his game has developed a lot more, I think his fitness is better, I think his movement is sharper."
Henman, who lost four semi-finals at Wimbledon, added that Murray was "very comfortable" on grass and that past experience would help him.
“He has the experience of playing great tennis [there], having won there twice and also the support of the crowd so I think if he’s going to have a good run in a Grand Slam in 2022, it’ll probably be at Wimbledon.”
Prior to his home Slam, Murray will be targeting a place in the French Open in May, a tournament he finished runner-up in to Novak Djokovic in 2016.
