MURRAY LOOKS TO SETTLE NERVES, DEFEND TITLE
Rest of ‘Big Four’ stand in the way of world No. 1
World No. 1 Andy Murray has a lot at stake at the All England Club as he endeavors to become the ninth male tennis player in the Open era to successfully defend a Wimbledon crown.
Murray has defended a Grand Slam tournament title twice, as the 2012 U.S. Open and 2013 Wimbledon champ, but failed to reap the reward of that end goal.
A day before playing his firstround match, Murray on Sunday appeared more optimistic about the status of what he has characterized as a chronic hip problem from his youth, and he accepted congratulations on the news that he and his wife, Kim, are expecting their second child.
As is Wimbledon tradition, the defending champion will be featured in the first match on Centre Court on Monday. Murray will play lucky loser Alexander Bublik, a player from Kazakhstan with an unorthodox style and an outgoing personality who gained entry into the main draw when Argentina’s Pablo Cuevas withdrew with a knee injury.
Because Cuevas sent his regrets after the qualifying event had started, his absence provided an extra spot in the draw that would go to the next-best result of a player who competed in but failed to advance from the qualifying competition.
Murray, 30, discussed what’s different about this opportunity to defend a Grand Slam title from his previous attempts.
“Obviously, (I’m) a little bit more experienced, a bit older now,” he said. “Hopefully I’m able to deal with things better this time round. Really, once you get out there, I don’t feel like I’m coming in trying to defend something. I’m going out there trying to win Wimbledon again.
“Maybe adds a little bit extra pressure. Maybe a few more nerves, especially at this Slam with the way scheduling is, that you’re the first one out there on Centre Court. You feel like you’re opening up the tournament a little bit, and that adds a few more nerves.”
Murray’s season has lacked the impact of his 2016 campaign, when he won Wimbledon, successfully defended his Olympic gold medal and safeguarded the No. 1 ranking for the first time in his career. This year, his lone title came in Dubai in February, so there’s no doubt a third Wimbledon trophy would boost Murray’s morale.
This tournament marks Murray’s first appearance as the Wimbledon top seed, which ends second seed Novak Djokovic’s fiveyear reign in the position.
Interestingly, it continues to remain a constant at Wimbledon that the “Big Four” in the game — Murray, Djokovic, third seed Roger Federer and fourth seed Rafael Nadal — are receiving all the attention. The foursome, all into their 30-something years, are occupying the top four seeds here for the first time since 2014.
But what is truly outstanding is that no other player outside this quartet of champions has won Wimbledon in the last 14 years. The last outsider to take the trophy home was Australian Lleyton Hewitt in 2002.
“It’s been very (dominated) by a few players here at Wimbledon, and in many of the other Slams, too,” Federer said Saturday when asked about the foursome’s stranglehold on Wimbledon. “It’s like that, but (it) can change tomorrow, very quickly.”
Federer, who sat out the French Open, is hoping to win a 19th Grand Slam title — he won No. 18 in Australia in January — which would add up to an eighth Wimbledon crown. If Federer does it, he would become the second man in history to win eight titles at the same Grand Slam event — Nadal won a record 10th French Open trophy last month.
Nadal is looking for another slice of history as well, trying to win the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year for the third time in his career. Bjorn Borg owns the record for that accomplishment with his back-toback-to-back titles between 1978 and 1980.
“My motivation is always high in all the events that I play,” said Nadal, who has won here twice and appeared in three additional finals. “If not, I am not playing. As you can imagine, playing here in Wimbledon for me has been very, very special.”
Djokovic is in the hunt for a fourth Wimbledon title, which would deliver a 13th Grand Slam trophy to his collection. The Serb, who won his three previous Wimbledon titles without having played a grass-court tuneup tournament, arrives having captured the Eastbourne trophy Saturday.
“I felt like this time I needed a proper tournament rather than just playing a couple of exhibition matches (ahead of Wimbledon),” Djokovic said. “I’m glad I made that decision and that I went to Eastbourne, because it was a very positive experience.”