Murray ready for Wimbledon challenge

 

Originally published on: 26/02/10 12:35

The 22-year-old Scot is now a genuine contender to become the first Briton to win the men’s singles at the All England Club since Fred Perry in 1936.

“I feel like I’m better equipped to win a grand slam this year than I was last year,” Murray said in his pre-tournament press conference.

“And yeah, I think I have a chance of winning, but I understand how difficult that is to do. It’s very easy to say, ‘Oh, Rafa’s not playing, Andy’s got a much easier route to the final.’ I don’t view it like that at all.

“If I got to that stage (the semi-finals), I would have had to have won five matches before I would have had to play him, so I wasn’t thinking about playing Nadal at all.

“He’s one of the best players ever so it’s always nice to play against him. But I definitely wasn’t thinking about that.

“You just focus on each match at a time and try and win one best-of-five-set match every couple of days and not get ahead of yourself.

“I feel like I’ve got a chance, but I’ll have to play great to do it. I’d obviously love to win here. I enjoy playing on grass, I love playing at Wimbledon. I feel like I’m ready to win a grand slam now, whereas last year I might not have been.

“Federer’s made the last six finals of Wimbledon, he’s obviously the big favourite going into the tournament. I’ve never won a grand slam before, I think I’ve got a chance of doing it here.

“But I need to play my best tennis ever to do it. It’s not like it’s gonna come easily. Slams don’t come easily and I’m sure the guys that have won them will tell you that. I understand how big a challenge it is.”

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