Murray unfazed by pressure to win Wimbledon
by Kapil Khera
Andy Murray insists he can cope with the pressure of being Britain’s only hope of ending 75 years of hurt in the men’s singles at Wimbledon.
It would be understandable if Murray looked a little burdened when he launches his title campaign at the All England Club as the Scot will be carrying the weight of a nation’s expectations on his shoulders.
With the rest of men’s tennis in Britain still lagging way behind Murray, the world number four will be out on his own as he tries to become the first British man to win Wimbledon since Fred Perry in 1936.
For the next two weeks the 24-year-old can expect to be front page news in the national media as his every move is analyzed and debated.
Tim Henman, the last serious British contender for Wimbledon, took years to get used to that kind of suffocating pressure and was known to feel uncomfortable during his time in the spotlight at the grass-court Grand Slam.
Murray, however, has a more relaxed attitude to the extra stresses that come with leading the challenge for a country that develops a rapacious appetite for tennis success for the two weeks of Wimbledon then ignores the sport for the rest of the year.
“Dealing with the public’s expectations has never been an issue for me,” Murray said.
“I grew up watching Tim Henman a lot so I knew that if I was to get to that level, it was something I must expect.
“It wasn’t something that came as a great surprise and the more years you are around it, the better you know how to deal with it.