Two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray is encouraged with his performances in practice, and believes he can have success in London if his body does not fail him.
Murray holds a 57-11 record at the grass-court Grand Slam, winning the title in 2013 and 2016. However, he has not competed at SW19 in singles since 2017 due to injury.
“The way that I've been performing in my practices with top players, I'm not going out there and getting whacked,” Murray said. “I'm competing well with all of the players that I practised with. That's the really positive thing for me. That's one of the reasons why I'm sure that if my body holds up that I can do well and can compete with these guys on the biggest stages. I think how you perform in them can give you some knowledge about where you are.
“I'll just go out there and I'll compete for every point. If my body hurts afterwards, fine. It's more the build-up that's the hard part, knowing how much to push, having the mentality to really go for it in training.”
The 34-year-old defeated Benoit Paire in the first round at the cinch Championships last week before falling to The Queen's Club champion Matteo Berrettini in the second round. He has been training at Wimbledon since and shared the court with eight-time champion Roger Federer on Friday. It was an experience the World No. 119 loved and did not take for granted.
“Getting to play with Roger was really cool for me. They're the sort of things that probably like six, seven years ago I wouldn't have given any thought to it,” Murray said. “I would have seen that as just being a practice session pre-major with a top player, and focusing kind of on myself.
“I'm probably appreciating these things more. When I take a step back from that, as a tennis fan, getting to play with Roger Federer two days before Wimbledon, it's really great.”
The Brit, who received a wild card into The Championships this year, will begin against 24th seed Nikoloz Basilashvili on Monday. It will be just his fifth tournament of the year and first Grand Slam appearance since his Roland Garros defeat to Stan Wawrinka last September.
“I'm delighted that I can be back competing here again. I'm most excited about being in front of a big crowd and the fans and everything. That's really something that I've missed a lot. I miss being on Centre Court. I miss the pressure of that, as well. That's something I'm looking forward to feeling again,” Murray said.
Murray holds a 57-11 record at the grass-court Grand Slam, winning the title in 2013 and 2016. However, he has not competed at SW19 in singles since 2017 due to injury.
“The way that I've been performing in my practices with top players, I'm not going out there and getting whacked,” Murray said. “I'm competing well with all of the players that I practised with. That's the really positive thing for me. That's one of the reasons why I'm sure that if my body holds up that I can do well and can compete with these guys on the biggest stages. I think how you perform in them can give you some knowledge about where you are.
“I'll just go out there and I'll compete for every point. If my body hurts afterwards, fine. It's more the build-up that's the hard part, knowing how much to push, having the mentality to really go for it in training.”
The 34-year-old defeated Benoit Paire in the first round at the cinch Championships last week before falling to The Queen's Club champion Matteo Berrettini in the second round. He has been training at Wimbledon since and shared the court with eight-time champion Roger Federer on Friday. It was an experience the World No. 119 loved and did not take for granted.
“Getting to play with Roger was really cool for me. They're the sort of things that probably like six, seven years ago I wouldn't have given any thought to it,” Murray said. “I would have seen that as just being a practice session pre-major with a top player, and focusing kind of on myself.
“I'm probably appreciating these things more. When I take a step back from that, as a tennis fan, getting to play with Roger Federer two days before Wimbledon, it's really great.”
The Brit, who received a wild card into The Championships this year, will begin against 24th seed Nikoloz Basilashvili on Monday. It will be just his fifth tournament of the year and first Grand Slam appearance since his Roland Garros defeat to Stan Wawrinka last September.
“I'm delighted that I can be back competing here again. I'm most excited about being in front of a big crowd and the fans and everything. That's really something that I've missed a lot. I miss being on Centre Court. I miss the pressure of that, as well. That's something I'm looking forward to feeling again,” Murray said.