‘Gung ho’ Andy Murray backed to make Wimbledon semis – ‘There are glimpses of the old Andy’

Shahida Jacobs 02 Jul 2023 5:34 PM

Andy Murray on the run

Andy Murray finds himself in a “good section of the draw” for Wimbledon and former British No 1 John Lloyd says he has a “good feeling” that the three-time Grand Slam winner could have a deep run this year.

Two-time Wimbledon champion Murray has enjoyed a revival this year as he just missed out on being seeded for this year’s tournament after climbing back into the top 40 of the ATP Rankings.

The former world No 1 has enjoyed a solid build-up to the grass-court major, albeit mostly on the ATP Challenger Tour, as he won the Surbiton Trophy and the Nottingham Open with both events on the second tier.

At ATP Tour level, he lost in the first round of the Queen’s Club Championships while away from grass he finished runner-up at the Qatar Open and also reached the third round of the Australian Open.

Not too bad for someone who many predicted could have a farewell tour in 2023.

But all focus will be on Wimbledon and Murray has landed an all-British opening tie as he will take on wildcard Ryan Peniston on Tuesday. If he gets through that then he will face fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round.

However, 1977 Australian Open runner-up and tennis commentator Lloyd is excited about Murray’s chances at SW19 this year.

“I’ve got a very good feeling about Andy Murray this year, there are glimpses of the old Andy. If he gets to the quarter-finals it would be a good effort but I have a feeling he could make the semis,” he wrote in his Daily Mail column.

“His preparation couldn’t have gone much better. He won those two Challenger tournaments and then losing in the first round at Queen’s wasn’t a bad thing as it meant he could rest.

“Apparently he’s already looking ahead to next year and the Olympics and everything else, he’s still gung ho. I’m so full of admiration for him.

“Murray is in a good section of the draw, along with Cam Norrie. Over five sets Norrie is a warrior so we could have a Norrie v Murray quarter-final, which would be amazing.”

Andy Murray at Wimbledon since career-saving surgery

The two-time winner missed the 2018 and 2019 editions at Wimbledon due to surgery on his troublesome hip while the 2020 tournament was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

He finally made his return in 2021 and defeated 24th seed Nikoloz Basilashvili in four sets in the first round and Oscar Otte in five sets in the second round before going down 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 to 10th Denis Shapolov in the third round.

In 2022 he defeated James Duckworth in four sets in his opener, but then lost 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), 6-7 (3-7), 6-4 against big-serving American John Isner.