Wild card Katie strides into SW19
Fired-up Murray IS fit to defend Wimbledon title
FOR days the nation has been on tenterhooks wondering whether Andy Murray would make it to Wimbledon at all.
And yesterday, even as he vowed to defend his title and keep playing, the look on the world number one’s face appeared to say otherwise.
Worrying pictures show Murray wincing and clasping his knee in one of the final practice sessions before he takes to centre court today.
But he was determined to play through the pain from his hip today – and confirmed that he and wife Kim, 29, are expecting a second baby.Their daughter, Sophia, was born 17 months ago.
The sports star, 30, said: ‘ We’re both obviously very happy and looking forward to it’.
Also at SW19 today is wild card Katie Boulter, who will take on a player 178 places above her.
The 20-year-old, from Woodhouse Eaves, Leicestershire, ranked 238th, will play USA’s Christina McHale, 60th, tomorrow in her Wimbledon debut.
Speaking yesterday, Murray shrugged off claims that the hip injury was a new concern. He said: ‘ I’ve had hip problems since I was very young. It’s not something new to me. It’s just been very sore the last few weeks.’
Murray remained optimistic as he prepared to take on Alexander Bublik, a tattooed, raploving, Kazakhstani, today.
He said: ‘You want to make the most of every tournament you play. I hope I’m still playing here for five, six, seven more years, if possible.’
ANDY MURRAY last night declared himself fit and ready to compete at Wimbledon, while dismissing talk that 35-year- old roger Federer is the outright favourite.
‘Whether someone is favourite or not to me is not relevant,’ said the 30-year-old Scot as Federer’s odds were slashed to 2-1.
‘Who wins the tournament at the end is what’s important, not who is the favourite on paper.’
Murray, now fourth in the betting, ended a
week of doubt by completing his scheduled practice again yesterday — as did his British counterpart Jo Konta, who will also be fit to play this afternoon against Taiwan’s Su-Wei Hsieh. World No 1 Murray confirmed his wife Kim is pregnant with the couple’s second child, and pledged that the situation would not affect his concentration. ‘We’re both obviously very happy and looking forward to it,’ he said. ‘It’s certainly not a distraction in the slightest.’ Murray insisted that he will not be giving up his title lightly and that he hoped to mount a better
defence than in 2014, when he lost to Grigor Dimitrov in the quarter-finals amid a welter of self-beration on the Centre Court. ‘I have more experience, I’m a bit older now. Hopefully I’m able to deal with things better this time around. I want to make sure I make the best of the chances I have left.’ Murray will open the programme at 1pm today against Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik (right) and admitted this adds to the tension after playing only one grass court match all year. He said: ‘You feel like you’re opening the tournament, it adds a few more nerves. But I feel OK, I’ve felt fairly calm the last few days, considering. ‘I’ll be fine to play the event and play seven matches. I’ve had hip problems since I was very young. It’s just been very sore in the last few weeks, so that’s why I took a break, to give it a chance to settle down. It’s felt much better in the last few days, practice each day has got a little better.’ Konta gave herself a clean bill of health after falling heavily on her back during her Eastbourne quarterfinal last week.