The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Murray urges Britons to aim for glory
Scot wants to see bar set high for home hopes
Andy Murray insisted expectations must be higher after four British players reached round three of the singles at Wimbledon for the first time in 20 years.
The world No 1’s 6-3 6-2 6-2 victory over Dustin Brown meant there was success for all four home singles players yesterday, with Murray’s win following those of Johanna Konta, Heather Watson and Aljaz Bedene.
Kyle Edmund could make that five when he takes on Gael Monfils today, but Murray feels celebrations should be tempered.
He said: “It’s obviously good to have more players playing in the slams and winning matches. I know Heather and Jo won today. I saw Aljaz won, too. Hopefully we can keep going.
“I wouldn’t say this is the target, to get like five players into the third round. Obviously we want to try and do better than that.
“Aim as high as you can. Like why not try and get five, six players into the quarter-finals of slams? It’s better to set the goal as high as possible and fall a little bit short than go, ‘Yeah, we’re delighted with five or six players in the second or third round of a slam’.
“It’s not to say that getting to the third round isn’t good, but some of the players, like Kyle and Heather and Jo, they’re capable of doing more than that.”
Murray has been used to providing Centre Court drama over the years but this time he followed it after Konta’s three-hour epic against Donna Vekic.
Konta is through to the third round at Wimbledon for the first time and, as an established member of the top 10, has been tipped as a potential winner.
So could Britain complete a clean sweep of the singles titles?
“I have never thought about that, but obviously it’s not impossible,” said Murray.
“It would be amazing if that was the case. I still say it’s unlikely, but it’s possible.
“Jo has played extremely well the last 18 months. She’s certainly good enough to win the tournament here.
“I believe that I can have a good run here. I can win, for sure. It’s going to be extremely difficult but it’s possible.”
As soon as Murray won the first set against Brown it was clear the joy in the contest would come from shot-making rather than the competitiveness.
Brown, a German-Jamaican with dreadlocks reaching his waist, is one of tennis’s born entertainers and the unorthodox nature of his game can cause problems for the best.
He famously beat Rafael Nadal at the same stage of Wimbledon two years ago, but Centre Court is Murray’s stage and the Scot did not allow himself to be bullied.
Tennis players love rhythm and Brown provides none, mixing 128mph second serves – his fastest serve was a second serve – with languid volleys and drop shots before throwing in a thumping backhand or two.
Murray, though, was rarely outmanoeuvred. He continued to limp but it was clear there should not be too much concern about his right hip as he scurried all over the court.
Murray said: “It was a good match from my end. I served well until really the last few games. I returned well. I didn’t make many mistakes. I hit a lot of good passing shots. So I was really happy with it, obviously.”
The victory maintains the 30-yearold’s record of never having lost before the third round of Wimbledon, and he moves through to a meeting with flashy Italian Fabio Fognini tomorrow.
Brown could do little but admire his opponent’s performance, with the pair sharing a friendly exchange at the net.
“I just said, ‘Too good’, basically,” said Brown. “’Thanks for that lesson.’
“If he has a problem with his hip, I don’t want to play against him when his hip is good.
“Most of the guys you play, you can try to find a way where you know you can hurt them. But today I had the feeling it made no difference what I did.”