Returning Murray shooting from the hip at different Wimbledon

Everything’s changed for Andy Murray at Wimbledon this time.

A two-time champion at the All England Club, he’s not considered a serious title contender — by himself or anyone else, for that matter. He is not as prepared as usual as the grasscourt Grand Slam approaches, having played three matches all year after recently returning from hip surgery.

He is not seeded, because his ranking is outside the top 150.

Murray is, however, thrilled to be playing, provided nothing crops up before he’s scheduled to face Benoit Paire of France in the first round.

“I always want to be here competing. It feels a little bit odd coming into the tournament this year,” Murray said. “Normally at this stage, I feel really nervous, lots of pressure, and I expect a lot of myself around this time of year. I’ve always loved that and enjoyed that in a way. It has been difficult but I enjoyed it. Whereas this year, it feels very different.”

The first British man in 77 years to win a Wimbledon singles title when he did so in 2013, before adding another in 2016, Murray lost in the quarter-finals in 2017 to Sam Querrey, hampered by his hip. Murray did not play another match last season, then had his operation in January.

Nearly 12 full months had passed by the time he ventured back into competition at the Queen’s Club grass-court event two weeks ago. Still with a hitch in his gait, Murray played more than 21⁄2 hours before losing to Nick Kyrgios in three sets.

Last week, again on grass, Murray beat fellow three-time major champion Stan Wawrinka, before losing to countryman Kyle Edmund.

“I’m pumped obviously because four or five weeks ago, I didn’t know whether I’d be capable of competing at a level I’d be happy with. The last couple of weeks has been beneficial. I don’t think I played amazing in the matches but I think I’ve done well, considering the opponents.”

Now comes Paire, a former member of the top 20 now ranked 48th.

“He’s a tricky guy to play against, because of his style. He does hit a lot of drop shots, he serve-volleys.”

Get past him and Murray could face No 26 Denis Shapovalov.