A decade has passed since Andy Murray made his first appearance in the men’s draw of Wimbledon and if you thought he had it any easier back then, you would be surprised.
“It was very different for me back then coming into the event,” said the Scot, who at 18 and ranked 312 in the world won his first two matches in straight sets before losing to David Nalbandian in the 2005 tournament. “There was no pressure, no expectation.”
Back then it was Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski who carried the hopes of a nation as Britain desperately sought its first men’s champion since Fred Perry in 1936. That year, however, both crashed out in the second round.
Murray, on the other hand, managed to stun the 13th-seed Radek Stepanek 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to make it to the round of 32. That win changed everything, he says.
“The attention in that week when I was playing, it went from being zero to loads, really,” Murray said on Saturday. “After my second-round match, I had a mixed doubles match. I couldn’t get out to the court.
“When I was going back to the place where I was staying, I had people following me, photographers and stuff.”
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Murray had become a star overnight, the hope of a nation. “But there was way, way less pressure,” he said.
Murray does not exaggerate. His mother, Judy, a well-known and vocal cheerleader of her son at courtside, attempted to paint a picture of the bedlam that accompanies the Murrays at their home grand slam.
“I would love to enjoy Wimbledon more,” Judy was quoted as saying in The Telegraph newspaper. “I used to enjoy it. But so much stress comes with the pressure and expectation that is on Andy, and the fact that the spotlight is very much on us as a family. The hopes of the nation are always on him.
“He handles it, and has handled it for many years, unbelievably well.”
Murray has managed to soak up all that pressure and deliver. In 2013, he became Britain’s first men’s title winner at Wimbledon in 76 years when he beat Novak Djokovic in the final.
The wait had also been a long one for Murray as well: he had lost four major finals before that, including Wimbledon 12 months earlier, when he burst into tears after losing to Roger Federer. But in that defeat, he had managed to win over a nation.
A month after that loss to Federer, Murray took his revenge in the Olympic final and then 11 months later, defeated Djokovic in straight sets for his second major. That was his last win over the reigning world No 1.
Murray has lost eight on the trot since, including four in 2015, but as he returns to the All England Club, hopes are high that the Scot can finally bring that disappointing run to an end.
“Djokovic is still the favourite, but I am going for Andy Murray to win because I think his form over the past three or four months has been terrific,” said Todd Woodbridge, the former Australian doubles star. “He seems to be in the same sort of form he was when he won Wimbledon a couple of years ago.”
Murray agrees, and says he feels he is playing even better than when he won in 2013. Over the past three months, he has lost only once in 21 matches — to Djokovic in the semi-finals of the French Open — and has three titles. He has already reached 41 wins for the year (41-6).
“This first six months of the year is as good as I’ve ever seen him play,” Henman said. “He’s in the form of his life and is definitely in the best shape to fight for the Wimbledon title again.”
Murray, who starts his campaign against Mikhail Kukushkin, has a difficult route to the title though.
He could face Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the round of 16 and then either former champion Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals.
Murray will then likely have to overcome Federer in the semis before a potential rematch against Djokovic.
In effect, he will have to beat three of the greatest players in tennis history to get his hands around that massive silver gilt cup.
Add the burden of expectation and it is in an unenviable position. But Murray says is actually relishing it.
“I enjoy playing in the high pressure situations,” he said. “You know, that’s really what I play for now. I enjoy these events.”
Those words will be most welcome to his fans on Murray Mound, the Scot plays his best tennis when he is enjoying it.
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