ANDY PROVES HE’S FIT TO FLY
Olympic ace David turns to coaching Holder shrugs off injury fears
Andy Murray’s hip injury wasn’t in evidence as he cruised through his opening match in defence of his Wimbledon title on Monday.
First up on the lush Centre Court, he eased to a 6-1 6-4 6-2 win over Kazakhstani lucky loser Alexander Bublik, who was contesting just his seventh tour-level match.
On his best surface where he captured the championship in 2013 and again last year, he broke Bublik early, saved a couple of break points in his first service game – and never looked back.
He admitted afterwards that he had felt nervous beforeh and having lost recently at Queen’s then having to miss out on two exhibition matches last week because of a hip injury.
“I hadn’t been able to do as much as I would have liked in the buildup,” said the World No 1.
“I didn’t know the guy I was playing. Obviously, first match at a slam, there’s always a few extra nerves. Once I got out there I felt good. I moved well.
“So, for a first match, considering how I was feeling five, six days ago, it was really positive.”
Today (Wednesday) his opponent will be the dreadlocked German Dustin Brown, who came from a set and 3-5 deficit to knock out Joao Sousa of Portugal 3-6, 7-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the first round.
Brown has only faced the Dunblane ace once on the ATP Tour, losing in straight sets at the 2010 US Open but will be hoping to draw on memories of his 2015 Wimbledon second-round win over Rafael Nadal when he won in four sets.
“Either way he’s the favourite,” said Brown. “I can be pretty relaxed and try to play my game. If I lose in three sets no one is going to worry. I will just go out there and try my best.”
Murray said, “Dustin plays a lot more up at the net than Bublik. He tends to come out with some great shots. A very entertaining guy to watch. He’s a great mover. A really good athlete. He’s a good personality, as well. Always a fun guy to watch.”
Jamie Murray and his Brazilian partner Bruno Soares will meet Czech pairing Roman Jebavy and Jiri Vesely in the first round of the doubles.
Seeded No 3, the Murray/Soares combination go into the event on a high having won their last two tournaments in Stuttgart and at the Queen’s Club. SEE PAGE 53