Wimbledon - Murray: I'm ready to win

Eurosport - Tue, 23 Jun 19:36:00 2009

Andy Murray believes he is ready to make Wimbledon history by becoming the first British man to win the grass-court Grand Slam for 73 years.

2009 Wimbledon Andy Murray - 0

Murray starts his bid to emulate Fred Perry's 1936 triumph when he faces America's Robert Kendrick on Tuesday and the Scot is beginning to feel like this could be his year.

In the space of 12 months, Murray has gone from a pretender to a serious contender for all the major titles.

His last Wimbledon appearance was a brutal lesson in the harsh realities of life at the top as Rafael Nadal bludgeoned him into submission over three brutal sets in the quarter-finals.

That defeat, coming so soon after a dramatic fourth round victory over Richard Gasquet, was a hammer blow to Murray's pride. But the 22-year-old simply ramped up his fitness regime to help match Nadal's physical power and Roger Federer's sublime all-court game.

The results have been eye-catching. Murray has risen to third in the world rankings on the back of five ATP Tour titles this year, including his first grass-court victory at Queen's two weeks ago.

His deadly accurate serve and astute ground-strokes have already claimed Nadal and Federer's scalps this year so, understandably, Murray is quietly confident of enjoying a fortnight to remember in south-west London.

"I feel like I'm better equipped to win a Grand Slam this year than I was last year," he said. "I have a chance of winning, but I understand how difficult that is to do.

"I'd obviously love to win here. I enjoy playing on grass and I love playing at Wimbledon.

"Like I said, I feel like I'm ready to win a Grand Slam now, whereas last year I might not have been. But I understand how difficult it is. It's not an easy thing to do.

"Federer's made the last six finals of Wimbledon and he's the big favorite going into the tournament.

"I've never won a Grand Slam before but I think I've got a chance of doing it here.

"I need to play my best tennis ever to do it. It's not like it's gonna come easily. Slams don't come easily, and I'm sure the guys that have won them will tell you that. I understand how big a challenge it is."

Murray's cause would be helped if he can harness the support of the Wimbledon crowd, who have never embraced the Scot with anything like the passion they showed for Tim Henman.

With 'Hen-mania' firmly consigned to the history books, Murray is the only hope of a British success story, yet his sometimes surly demeanour earned him few fans at his first few Wimbledons.

He is a far more engaging character now however. Last year's victory over Gasquet was the first occasion when the crowd really got behind him and he is hoping for more of the same this year.

"I did watch quite a few of Tim's matches the last few years of his career and the support was great," Murray said. "Anytime you can play in front of a home crowd in any sport it is a huge advantage.

"In football and basketball, home court or playing a home match is huge. I view tennis as being the same thing. You've got 15,000 people behind you here.

"Tim, I'm sure, played some of the best tennis of his career here. I think the crowd had something to do with that."

Murray's path to the final looks far less daunting now defending champion Nadal has pulled out with knee tendinitis as the pair were due to meet in the semi-finals.

Even a potential final with five-time champion Federer would hold few fears for Murray, who leads their career meetings 6-2. But the Scot has no intention of getting ahead of himself.

For now Kendrick is the only player he is worried about.

"He has a big game. He plays very aggressive and takes a lot of chances so there's no chance of me underestimating him," Murray said.

AFP

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  1. Celtic and Liverpool are not rivals LOOL your a true­ 'sports fan' yeah ? !!!

    Facts are still the­ same, and always will be..

    Football fans dont support­ their rivals, some do, most don't, get over it,­ accept the facts or just act like a fool, either way­ the facts remain the same.

    Murray will win a slam, who­ knows what one, but soon enough he will.

    From Lex, on Tue 23 Jun 12:21PM

  2. Please can someone knock Andy out soon

    From Godwin, on Tue 23 Jun 12:20PM
  3. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    LEX You are a @#$%, now i know what happens to the­ foetus when its starved of oxygen at birth, It leaves­ pathetic comments like yours. A Liverpool fan will­ support celtic because of the ties between them. Man u­ support chelsea there both english you idiot

    so us­ english will support scotland at some things but when­ Murray supports any other team england plays then @#$%­ him i hope he gets knocked out first round.

    From Paul J, on Tue 23 Jun 12:17PM

  4. I wonder if your dad knows about your lack of football­ knowledge LoL !!!

    From Lex, on Tue 23 Jun 12:10PM

  5. Once again that is Football you muppet, lol learn some­ culture before running that mouth lol

    A football fan­ never supports his rival football team unless it will­ help them in that tournament etc ..

    Not even if they­ are not in it, thats FOOTBALL, dont you even support a­ football team and know about this ??

    A man Utd fan­ will not support Chelsea, A typical English football­ fan wont support Scotland, and the same goes for all­ football rivals.

    Tennis however as we all know, is a­ completely different sport, and the fans support­ Bristish players from wherever they are born under one­ flag, really simple, he's a true scotland football­ fan, and a true British tennis player.

    you want­ scottish football fans to support the england football­ team, HAHAHAHAHAHA

    Try getting Man utd fans to support­ chelsea, Rangers fans to support Celtic, NAh it wont­ ever happen.

    If you dont understand this then quite­ obviously your a very immature annoying person, that­ can only spend time attempting to look smart to try and­ feel good, good luck with your life.

    From Lex, on Tue 23 Jun 12:09PM

  6. That's the problem with brits, they think­ they're the best, they think they can win­ everything and more, they say it out loud. Just as any­ competition is about to begin all papers and sportsmen­ have the biggest hopes for it. Sadly you're not­ that good.

    From Faiq, on Tue 23 Jun 12:01PM

  7. You are evading the REAL issue.

    During the 2006­ Football World Cup, Scotland had already crashed OUT of­ the games whem Murray made his nasty comments. So there­ was no chance that England and Scotland would come up­ against one-another.

    So, with Schimself otland out of­ the way, Murray should have put on his ‘British cap’­ and declare himself behind the England team!

    But no­ !!!
    He said that during the England v. Brazil match, he­ would support Brazil !!!

    HOW’S THAT FOR A BRITISH MAN­ ???

    Well, during the 2009 Wimbledon Games, I and ALL­ MY FRIENDS will support ANYONE who comes up against him­ and root for Murray TO LOSE !!!!!!!

    It’s rubbish that­ he is ‘British’…he seems to consider himself nothing of­ the sort…for himself, he is Scottish and Scottish ONLY.

    From Paul J, on Tue 23 Jun 11:57AM

  8. His home country is Scotland not england, we all know­ that, even henman laughed at what he said, they are­ good friends, WHY WOULD A SCOTTISH FOOTBALL FAN SUPPORT­ ENGLAND FOOTBALL TEAM, THATS FOOTBALL

    Tennis is­ completely different, england doesnt rival scotland,­ they try and work together to produce a decent Bristish­ player, Learn your sports before you go running your­ mouth child !!

    How can you not know the difference­ between football and tennis LOL

    From Lex, on Tue 23 Jun 11:55AM

  9. So he was saying how he doesnt want England to qualify­ for major football tourneys and now he wants HOME­ support!?

    What a @#$%, if hes not going to support his­ home country, why should the home country support­ him?

    Shame Wimbledons not in Scotland eh?

    Murray will­ never get the support Henman got whatever he do

    From tonypol2000, on Tue 23 Jun 11:49AM

  10. Some of the anti-Murray brigade may be right. He may­ never win a grand slam. But I hope he doesnt turn out­ like Federer. By coming out on court like a catwalk­ queen, he displayed an arrogance Ive never seen before­ and a huge amount of disrespect for his opponent. Quite­ frankly it was disgusting to watch. I sincerely hope­ that the Federer age is about to come to and end soon.­ That was just posturing and did him no favours. His­ tennis was quite good though. What is it to be next­ round? A striped blazer, bow-tie with a straw boater? A­ jaunty sea-captains blazer with the hat at a cheeky­ angle?

    From Peter, on Tue 23 Jun 11:47AM

  11. Pinklady, Murray said that he wouldnt support England­ when Tim Henman was standing next to him. The two of­ them had been having your usual friendly banter just­ before the interview started. The comment he made was­ directed at Tim and has been blown out of all­ proportion

    From JEEMS, on Tue 23 Jun 11:45AM

  12. Andy has better chances this time as he is getting­ better as days go by. Of course, there is still Roger­ who is hungry for the 15th grand slam and Djokovic who­ wants a Wimbledon title too.

    Go Andy Go! Don't­ worry about the skeptics. You can win against the­ odds.

    Wish you the best!!!

    From my heart, on Tue 23 Jun 11:44AM

  13. MURRAY WILL WIN A SLAM

    FEE FI FO FUM . . .

    From JEEMS, on Tue 23 Jun 11:42AM

  14. isn't murray american ? I stand corrected , I heard­ him in an interview and I honestly thought he was­ american...good luck to both but really I think FEDERER­ IS PROBABLY the most complete tennis player ever

    From cochino, on Tue 23 Jun 11:41AM

  15. It's funny how such un-concerned talent can bring­ out the weasels from their two bit holes !!

    Murray is­ awesome, I just hope he doesn't let it all go to­ his head, he is way better than henman already and he­ hasn't even started, even henman backs him, a­ proper tennis fan, just like murray backed henman when­ he was looking up to him as a child.

    From Lex, on Tue 23 Jun 11:41AM

  16. Murray wins GS , i stop watching tennis!

    From Jane, on Tue 23 Jun 11:38AM

  17. to say that murray will never win a slam is­ outrageous-he didnt get to number 3 playing poor did he­ and his record against federer 6 wins to 2 losses and­ he already has 5 titles under his belt this year(can­ any other player say that)proves he can beat him-i just­ hope he does win one one day and shut up the people who­ clearly havent a clue what they are talking about when­ they constantly have a go at him COME ON ANDY MAKE­ SCOTLAD PROUD

    From jamesmcfadden71, on Tue 23 Jun 11:37AM

  18. The British press stand on Murray's chance of­ winning Wimbledon in this current tournament is ominous­ sign of a fall for Murray.. History of this British­ home grown appearances at SW tournament has remained­ more than disappointing. In the past Henman not­ Rudeszki has been on this bandwagon and did not prevail­ throughout his tour at SW.. Then was the recent­ razzmatazz about the first British-Australian born­ Laura Robson at 15 to participate in a SW GS but did­ not prevail. Good she participated and had a lession in­ Tennis as Soderling confessed at RG that Federa thought­ him a tennis lession. He eventaully won his first­ hurdle yesterday at SW.. With current press coverage of­ Murray winning a tournament he hasn't played is­ dismal press intruition into his eventual demise at SW.­ In the past British sportsmen and women have suffered a­ lot of psychological blow as a result of press ill-wind­ towards them even before they throw a ball to their­ oponent.. I am so sorry for Murray as he is not going­ to win the tournament for sure but participating in the­ tournament is assured..
    If he can lie low a bit ,­ forget the money that goes with press adverts then he­ can make impacts but not winning. It will be the­ biggest upset in wimbledon History for Murray to win­ this event at it's current form. he has to go­ through all the heavy weights, even Soderling inspired­ will do damage, not to talk of Tsonger, Roddick and­ Djokovic, Karlovic and Verdaco still in contention. If­ Roger predicts the fall of Murray then this is it, he­ can't go past him in GS.. I like Roger's­ prediction but not a fan of Roger. He made similar­ predictions in the semis- against Agassi and he­ prevailed even before he became what he is today. It is­ not about swedish press talking about Roger before­ tournament but waiting patiently to see him lift the­ trophy.. This is what is expected of Murray and not the­ "pride goes before the fall". Twice it has­ happened to him both at AO and RG, The US

    From Augustine A, on Tue 23 Jun 11:35AM

  19. Actually, Murray isn't fighting to become the first­ British man to win the grass-court Grand Slam for 73­ years but the first British man to win ANY Grand Slam­ for 73 years.

    From Mpirikokos, on Tue 23 Jun 11:31AM

  20. best player ever?:) ZERO grand slams hahaha

    From La La Land, on Tue 23 Jun 11:26AM
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