ANDY’S HOME COMFORT AN ADVANTAGE

IT will be a Wimbledon of firsts and lasts for Andy Murray — his final one before he reaches his 30s and the new experience it offers of walking through the gates as a father. The result should be that, at a stage of career that can bring a jaded state of mind, he will be as motivated as he has ever been at his 11th Championships. Aside from playing arguably the best tennis of his career there is an added incentive: remaining among the best in the world long enough for his daughter Sophia to remember why her dad became famous. ‘I guess it would be nice so she knows what it is that you’ve done, or is maybe old enough to understand what it is that you do,’ reflects Murray. ‘So maybe as I start to get older that might be more of a motivation to keep going and training, and working hard to stay at the top.’ On the court there is little sign of the 29year-old Scot (right) having his fire extinguished, but those who deal with him regularly would all remark on his mellowing away from it. Not one to lack perspective — he has always been curious about life outside tennis — he feels parenthood has only been beneficial in the area to which he continues to dedicate most waking hours. ‘Playing still feels the same. It’s just that the days don’t feel the same when I get to see her, because she is changing all the time, I’m learning new things, and every day is a bit more exciting. ‘Maybe before, when you’re doing a practice week, it’s maybe the same thing every day, and can be a bit boring. ‘Whereas now I have something away from the court which takes my mind off tennis but also gives me a little bit of freshness.’ An advantage he has at Wimbledon is to spend each night in his Surrey home and any alteration to his timehonoured routine he finds beneficial. ‘The only thing is that I’ve been waking up a bit earlier and going to bed earlier than I used to.’ However that freshness will be key for Murray as the debrief with his team, and the newly arrived Ivan Lendl, has focused on the need for him to win early matches more comfortably. In Paris, when the Novak Djokovic hammer inevitably came down, he paid a heavy price for the five extra hours he had spent on court. If he can avoid that at Wimbledon — and he should in the first week at least — then he knows that a one-off match on grass could see him beat Djokovic, aware that he has done it before at SW19.