Two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray rolled back the years at SW19 this week, recreating magical moments on Centre Court before his third-round exit to 10th seed Denis Shapovalov on Friday.
The Scot was competing in singles at The Championships for the first time since 2017 due to his ongoing injury struggles with his hip. Despite Murray’s disappointment that he could not advance further, Swiss superstar Roger Federer was delighted to see the return of the 34-year-old, whom he has great respect for.
“He should be very, very happy about himself. I think he has a huge admiration from all the players [for] what he's going through because that is not just some simple knee thing like maybe some others. This is major stuff he's going through,” Federer said after beating Cameron Norrie on Saturday.
“I wish him only the best. Everybody hopes he stays on tour and keeps on going, to be honest. Most of all he needs to be happy. That goes with being healthy clearly,” Federer added.
Murray, the former World No. 1, overcame 24th seed Nikoloz Basilashvili in the first round before fighting back from two-sets-to-one down to defeat German Oscar Otte under the roof on Centre Court.
Federer, who will face 23rd Seed Lorenzo Sonego in the fourth round on Monday, enjoyed practising with Murray before the tournament on the lawns of Wimbledon.
“It was also nice playing with Andy, actually feeling the ball that was coming back from him, just seeing what can he do also in terms of his physical ability,” Federer said. “I watched a little bit yesterday side-by-side with the football.”
Federer holds a 2-0 ATP Head2Head record against Murray at Wimbledon, most notably defeating him in the 2012 final. However, they have not faced each other since the semi-finals at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati in 2015, largely due to Murray’s injuries. Federer only competed at the Australian Open last year as he recovered from two knee surgeries, so understands the challenges the World No. 118 is facing.
“I totally know what he's trying to say because you have to make compromises every single day,” Federer added. “Instead of practise, you have to rest, instead of practising three hours, you can only practise an hour and a half.
“On top of it all, you can't probably play 35 tournaments anymore. Now you're playing maybe 25, maybe 15 or less. All these things really matter in a player's mind.
The Scot was competing in singles at The Championships for the first time since 2017 due to his ongoing injury struggles with his hip. Despite Murray’s disappointment that he could not advance further, Swiss superstar Roger Federer was delighted to see the return of the 34-year-old, whom he has great respect for.
“He should be very, very happy about himself. I think he has a huge admiration from all the players [for] what he's going through because that is not just some simple knee thing like maybe some others. This is major stuff he's going through,” Federer said after beating Cameron Norrie on Saturday.
“I wish him only the best. Everybody hopes he stays on tour and keeps on going, to be honest. Most of all he needs to be happy. That goes with being healthy clearly,” Federer added.
Murray, the former World No. 1, overcame 24th seed Nikoloz Basilashvili in the first round before fighting back from two-sets-to-one down to defeat German Oscar Otte under the roof on Centre Court.
Federer, who will face 23rd Seed Lorenzo Sonego in the fourth round on Monday, enjoyed practising with Murray before the tournament on the lawns of Wimbledon.
“It was also nice playing with Andy, actually feeling the ball that was coming back from him, just seeing what can he do also in terms of his physical ability,” Federer said. “I watched a little bit yesterday side-by-side with the football.”
Federer holds a 2-0 ATP Head2Head record against Murray at Wimbledon, most notably defeating him in the 2012 final. However, they have not faced each other since the semi-finals at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati in 2015, largely due to Murray’s injuries. Federer only competed at the Australian Open last year as he recovered from two knee surgeries, so understands the challenges the World No. 118 is facing.
“I totally know what he's trying to say because you have to make compromises every single day,” Federer added. “Instead of practise, you have to rest, instead of practising three hours, you can only practise an hour and a half.
“On top of it all, you can't probably play 35 tournaments anymore. Now you're playing maybe 25, maybe 15 or less. All these things really matter in a player's mind.