Andy Murray is through to the second round after defeating Australia’s James Duckworth in four sets on 27th June, 2022. Showing glimpses of his old best and being pain free had helped him in setting target for the Wimbledon title.
After a slow start on Centre Court, Murray moved past Duckworth 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 to advance to the second round. He will next play 20th seed John Isner, against whom he has an 8-0 ATP head-to-head record.
In 2017, the Scot’s title defence was ended by Sam Querrey in the quarter-finals. That is when the hip injury that almost ended his career affected him. After the match with Duckworth, Andy said, “Certainly I’m in a better place. Than I was last year when I played here. In terms of pain I’m certainly in a better place than I was in 2017 when I played here.”
He added, “But, yeah, I don’t know about having a deep run or not. I’ve got a pretty tricky match in the next round against Isner. I’ll need to be on it for that one if I want to get through it.”
Andy Murray on playing on the grass courts of Wimbledon
Andy Murray hit 15 aces and won 85% of his first-serve points in his 2-hour and 43-minute win. Throughout the course of the game, he also showed variety in his playing technique. At the post-match press conference, Andy talked about the reasons he loves playing at home.
Murray said, “I probably didn’t spend that much time at home. That is one of the nice things of playing the grass season – being around your family and your friends. I get to see my mum, my dad which I don’t for the large parts of the year.”
He added, “Obviously get to see my children as well, which is not the case for the majority of the season…. and my wife [laughs]. Can’t miss her. Will get in trouble for that. That’s one of the things that I’ve loved about playing at home which is; spending time in your own home and your own bed.”
A moment of mischief from @andy_murray 😉#Wimbledon | #CentreCourt100 pic.twitter.com/DM4rAfpVsD
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 27, 2022
Using the underarm shot in the third set against James Duckworth, Murray won the point as the Australian was left scrambling to get the ball back over the net. At the press conference the Scot suggested the underarm serve might become more popular as players retreat further behind the baseline. It is to improve their chances of getting a decent return on big serves.