For over a decade, there’s only been one man on the minds of the Wimbledon crowd – a man who forced his way into the vaunted Big 4 and in 2013 brought the men’s trophy back to home soil for the first time since Fred Perry’s triumph in 1936.
The man we’re talking about is, of course, Sir Andy Murray – two-time Wimbledon champion, double Olympic champion, and former world number one. But this year he won’t be amongst the favorites, as he continues to charter his way through the rankings again after injury completely derailed his last few seasons.
But what chance is there of the wily Scot, so loved by crowds at SW19, winning the top prize once more at Wimbledon? Or is he now past his best, destined to remain on the periphery of the sport until his retirement?
Murray Has the Belief
The man himself is certainly confident in his abilities, recently stating that:
“I know it’s going to be even harder to win Wimbledon than it was five, six years ago, but I still believe.”
He also suggested that he’d have retired by now if he didn’t believe he still had it in him to scale the mountain once more. The tennis world knows that Murray is one of the more honest players on the circuit, so we can assume that his confidence is real, and not some misplaced bravado designed to mask his dwindling form.
Taking Form into Wimbledon
In previous years, Murray hasn’t looked great heading into the tournament, but this year is different. This year, Murray comes into the tournament following some impressive performances. The most recent of these came in Stuttgart, the last tournament Murray played before going into Wimbledon.
In Stuttgart, Murray managed to advance through the tournament and reach the final, where he lost to second seed Matteo Berrettini, last year’s beaten Wimbledon finalist. Murray played a strong game, but ultimately came up short, thanks in large part to injury.
What makes Murray’s run to the final more impressive is that he didn’t have an easy path. He beat seventh see Alexander Bublik in the second round, before impressively dispatching world number six Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarter-final.
Then he took care of business by beating Nick Kyrgios in the semi-finals. During his run to the final, he didn’t drop a set, until coming up against Berrettini.
Before Stuttgart, Murray made it through to the semi-finals of the Surbiton Trophy, and before that, made it to the round of 16 in Madrid, before having to retire against Novak Djokovic. So, Murray’s run isn’t a fluke, and genuinely bodes well for his chances at Wimbledon this year.
Favorable Draw for the Scot
Whether Murray can advance through the tournament or not depends largely on the luck of the draw, and the Scot has undoubtedly been reasonably fortunate in this regard.
He’ll open up against Australian James Duckworth, the world number 77 who he has never lost to, and could then face the big-hitting American John Isner in the second round.
Advance again and it could be 10th seed Jannik Sinner, or perhaps wildcard Stan Wawrinka, who is on a journey similar to the Scot’s. Murray won’t be fazed by any of them.
In fact, according to many, there are only two players in Murray’s side of the draw he should fear. The first is obvious: Novak Djokovic, the overwhelming favorite and, to many, the greatest of all time. The other is the young Carlos Alcaraz, heir apparent to Nadal and the recent Madrid Open winner.
Can Murray Take a Third Title?
The big question is this: does Andy Murray have it in him to take his third Wimbledon title? Well, he’s got the form, as well as the pedigree, and stranger things have happened before. However, even Murray will know deep-down that it’ll be exceptionally tough, especially with both Djokovic and Nadal looking in decent form.
So, a run to the title might be unlikely, but even a deep run in the tournament would be a huge achievement for a man still tenaciously battling, despite the injury setbacks that have blighted his last five years.
The bookies support the idea that Murray is going to have a tough time taking the 2022 Wimbledon title, with cryptocurrency sportsbook Cloudbet giving the Scot odds of 38.3 to win. If you think that Murray is going to win the title, why not take advantage of those huge odds today?