Murray gets boost after good practice with a familiar foe
Scot confident he can still compete with the best if his body holds up
ANDY MURRAY is taking confidence from a practice session with Roger Federer into his opening match at Wimbledon tomorrow.
The 34-year-old hit with his old rival on Friday as he builds up to his first singles match at the All England Club since 2017 against 24th seed Nikoloz Basilashvili.
Murray has been battling a groin problem for the past three months, and he said: “I’ve had some good practices with top players. I would like to have done more. But I’m also trying to manage the physical side as well, which is very important.
“I want to go into Wimbledon feeling as fresh and as comfortable as possible when I get out there.
“Getting to play with Roger was really cool for me. They’re the sort of things that probably six, seven years ago I wouldn’t have given any thought to it. I would have seen that as just being a practice session premajor with a top player, and focusing on myself.
“I’m probably appreciating those things more. When I take a step back from that, as a tennis fan, getting to play with Roger Federer two days before Wimbledon, it’s really great. I haven’t had the opportunity to do that sort of stuff much over the last few years. I enjoyed that.
“The way that I’ve been performing in my practices with top players, I’m not going out there and getting whacked. I’m competing well with all of the players that I practised with.
“That’s the really positive thing for me. That’s one of the reasons why I’m sure, if my body holds up, that I can do well, can compete with these guys on the biggest stages.”
Federer is also feeling his way back on to the match court after more than a year out and two knee operations.
He said of Murray: “I thought he looked good. You can see how comfortable he is on the grass. Clearly it’s just practice, we’re trying things. But I hope he can go deep here, have a nice run. Same for me.
“I think we always back our chances on this surface. But it was great spending time on the court again with Andy. It’s nice to see him out there.”
Wimbledon’s status as a pilot event for the Government’s Events Research Programme means crowds will rise from 50 per cent at the start of the tournament to full capacity for the final stages.
Murray is sure to be a star attraction, and he said: “I’m delighted that I can be back competing here again. I’m most excited about being in front of a big crowd and the fans and everything. That’s really something that I’ve missed a lot.
“I know it’s not normal, but it feels somewhat normal now that we’re a couple of days out from Wimbledon, with all the players around, practising, everybody doing the media stuff today, knowing that in a couple of days’ time we’ll be playing not in front of a full crowd but in front of a lot of people.
“I miss being on Centre Court. I miss the pressure of that, as well. That’s something I’m looking forward to feeling again.”
Federer, who turns 40 in just over a month, is playing only his fifth tournament in 17 months. Wimbledon was always the biggest target for his comeback, and he pulled out of the French Open after winning his third-round match in order to rest his body for the grass.
But his return to his favourite surface did not go as planned, with Federer losing to Felix Auger-Aliassime in the second round of the ATP event in Halle – which he has won 10 times – and berating himself afterwards for his negative approach on court.
“I had a mental moment where I was just not happy with how things were going in the match,” said the sixth seed, whose last match at Wimbledon was his agonising 2019 final defeat by Novak Djokovic.
“The good thing now looking back is I know it will not happen here because I’m ready, I’m excited, I’m pumped up. I know I can do so much better. If I look back at how many years this has not happened to me, I guess I can be very proud of myself.
“It reminds me more of the junior times in the beginning of my career where all of a sudden you just don’t see the positivity any more. I was maybe having higher expectations. Maybe it’s also part of the comeback.
“I think I’ve got to take the positives out of these last few weeks that I’m actually here at Wimbledon right now and I have a chance.
“I know if I get rolling, I get into the second week, which is the goal here right now, that I get stronger and stronger as every match goes by, I believe it’s very much possible. I come here feeling mentally strong.”
Federer is looking to become the oldest Grand Slam singles champion in history and has been shrugging off questions about retirement for the best part of a decade.
“The goal was not to play until 40,” he said. “This all mainly came the last years. I never thought also with the last surgeries I’ve had I would still be going.
“I feel I still really love it, enjoy myself. I will see about the results, if they’re going to come back. This is why Wimbledon is clearly very important to me right now.”