‘Murena’ has been great for Andy but he still has a long road ahead of him
I enjoyed watching Andy Murray and Serena Williams in the Mixed Doubles.
They brought a breath of fresh air to the event, and certainly raised the profile of doubles play.
In the last month that he has been back on court – at Queen’s Club, Eastbourne and Wimbledon – Murray has played pretty well.
Actually, remarkably well for someone who had major surgery six months ago.
However, Andy is being sensible in not rushing a return to the Singles. He may be desperate for that, but it’s clear he has a lot of progress to make.
Murray has to get more ‘pop’ on his second serve, which is still very vulnerable, and basically needs more matches under his belt to regain the old sharpness.
Watching ‘Murena’ in action pointed out the differences that have developed in recent years between Singles and Doubles.
Andy and Serena are two of the best service returners in the world, but were undone by the Doubles techniques of the specialists like Bruno Soares and Nicole Melichar, who beat them in three sets.
How things have changed since I won the Wimbledon Mixed Doubles title with Wendy Turnbull in 1983 and 1984. Standards have improved big-time.
One year, I went through the entire championship without dropping my serve once. The way that players return serve now, I’d have had trouble winning it once!
Playing in the Men’s and Mixed Doubles was a positive move for Andy, and the spectators loved it.
But I hope Wimbledon cut the Men’s Doubles down to the best of three sets. That would encourage more of the top players to enter.
The jury is still out on whether Murray can get back to the top, but it’s obvious he will give it his best shot.
The magnificent Number One court roof, and all the other developments, keeps Wimbledon ahead of the French and US Opens in the unofficial Grand Slam rankings – and behind only the Australian Open in terms of facilities.
It was insane that there was a complete day without play during the French Open because of rain. That is not acceptable.
By having Centre and Number One court with retractable roofs, Wimbledon is now virtually ‘weather-proof’.
There is one thing Wimbledon could do to improve the image. They should have ‘seat warmers’ in the Royal Box.
I don’t mean hot water bottles. I mean bums on seats, as it looks so bad on TV when the Royal Box completely empties after a match.
Wimbledon should have members on stand-by to fill the void when everyone goes out for tea. It’s not rocket science.