Hip hip hooray as Andy walks the walk and then talks the talk on Evans
DEFENDING champion Andy Murray marched into the second round of Wimbledon then told everyone to stop worrying about his wonky walk.
The only time the World No.1 betrayed any ill-effects of the hip problem which has dogged him in the build-up to this year’s Championships as he made light work of lucky loser Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan by a 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 scoreline was when he appeared to be limping back to the service line between points.
But the 30-year-old said last night that he was feeling fine and that is probably just his normal gait.
“I don’t think I have the smoothest walk at the best of times,” said Murray.
“Because my hip has been sore and everyone is talking about it, everyone thinks I am walking with a limp.
“I am not in pain when I am walking on the court. I don’t know if that’s something that’s come over the last couple of weeks when my hip’s been sore.
“Or if I’ve always done it, and everyone is sort of saying I’m walking that way because of my hip.
“But my hip felt good,” he added. “It’s a little bit sore, but I was moving really good on the court today.
“You know, that’s the most important thing. If you’re in a little bit of pain, but you can still run as you normally do, then that doesn’t affect how you play.
“It’s when it’s affecting your movement and some of the shots that you play when it becomes a problem.”
As difficult as anything in the course of an entertaining encounter on Centre Court against Bublik as maintaining his concentration and stopping himself stiffening up during two rain delays, the first for 30 minutes and the second for 45.
PERHAPS to avoid boredom, the two men exchanged friendly words in the locker room, something of a rarity in the world of professional tennis.
After a day which saw two of his highly-rated prospective opponents, Stan Wawrinka and Nick Kyrgios, make injury-affected exits, next up after the eccentric, erratic challenge of Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan is the equally flamboyant Jamaican/German Dustin Brown.
In some ways Murray expects a similar challenge to that presented by the 20-year-old from St Petersburg against the man who recorded a signature fourset win here against Rafael Nadal in 2015.
“I know Dustin pretty well,” he added. “We message each other from time to time and he’s a really nice guy.
“But in terms of the match, I expect him to be very aggressive. You know he’s going to go for it.
“Sometimes he hits two first serves, goes for a huge second serve. It’s not easy to play players like that. I’ll need to be ready.”
MEANWHILE, Murray feels his Davis Cup team-mate Dan Evans has only himself to blame as he serves a ban for cocaine use.
The 27-year-old Brummie is absent from this year’s Wimbledon as he serves a provisional suspension pending his ITF hearing for a positive test for the drug in April and Murray revealed that his friend had phoned to prepare him for the news.
The Scot takes great pride in the work he does with other Scottish and British players – this grass court season alone he has been hitting with Bearsden’s Aidan McHugh and Cameron Norrie, whose father hails from Glasgow – and he feels Evans has let his family and friends down.
“He [Evans] just wanted to tell me before I read it in the press,” said Murray, who didn’t let friendship get in the way of his own views.
“But he has let himself down and all of the people that help him. I’m sure his team and family will be extremely disappointed with what he’s done. The rules are very clear.
“He broke those rules, and deserves his suspension. However long that’s going to be, I don’t know.
“But it’s going to be, you know, a pretty long, long period, I’d imagine.
“I have obviously spent a reasonable amount of time with Dan over the last couple of years,” he added.
“He put himself in a position to do really well for the last few years of his career and he has blown that now.
“It will be interesting to see what he does, if he even wants to come back.
“It’s going to be a long road back if he wants to do it. But he’s made poor decisions in the past and he made another really bad one there.”
Dan has let himself down, he was in a position to do well but he has blown that now