After an agonizing wait for his first title, Andy Murray’s second Wimbledon title came with less stress and more joy.
Advertisement
“I am obviously happy to win again but there is a reason I wanted Ivan (Lendl, coach) back as part of my team”. Novak, the same thing.
“I don’t mind failing, providing that you’ve given your best and put everything into it”. I’ve had some great moments here but also some tough losses the wins feel extra special because of the tough losses. This run, interestingly, is very similar to the one Djokovic has had since the birth of his son Stefan in October 2014, winning five of the next seven Grand Slams.
Murray is unbeaten since reuniting with Lendl, following back-to-back titles at Queen’s Club and SW19. “I also think that every time I got into the rallies I was hitting the ball clean from the back of the court”. I think it’s going in a good direction right now, there’s a few players doing well.
This is evident from the fact that despite having 10 wins against Djokovic from 34 career meetings, Murray has won only two of their last 15 battles on court ever since the Wimbledon triumph in 2013. He also had 29 unforced errors to Murray’s 12.
“I feel a responsibility”.
“I played a little bit too much and by the time the US Open came around I was a bit flat and worn out”. I’m not afraid of failing. “I’m learning from all of my losses”. I know how hard these competitions are to win once, so do it twice means a lot.
He returned to number two in the world rankings last October but lost a fifth Australian Open final to Djokovic and was beaten by the Serb again in early June, having reached the final at Roland Garros for the first time.
“If I want to add to three slams, I’m going to have to find ways to win against them”, said Murray. It’s very rare that you get through a big tournament without playing Novak, Roger or Rafa. When I finish it would be nice if British tennis was in a better place than when I came in.
Murray’s focus now switches to helping Great Britain to defend their Davis Cup title, with the team facing Serbia in a quarter-final tie in Belgrade this week. Andy Murray then took a 40-0 win of his own in the eleventh game.
“I think after Wimbledon last time, the few months afterwards I found motivation hard and then I had my back surgery. I feel like this [2016 Wimbledon Championship] was more for myself more than anything”, said Andy Murray in his post match press conference.
“I would say it’s looking unlikely, but even if I don’t play I’m still probably going to go anyway just to be there with the team”.
“Leon was flying this morning and I’ll chat to him this afternoon to make a final decision”.
And that bodes well, with the defence of his Olympic title in Rio next month and September’s US Open on the horizon.
Advertisement
Djokovic’s lead in the rankings is still formidable, however, at almost 5,000 points – a grand slam title earns 2,000 – and if Murray is to overtake the Serbian he knows he will have to do better against him having won just two of their last 15 matches.
