Home

Tennis

6 Years After Their Last Battle, Novak Djokovic’s Top Rival Awaits Potential Wimbledon Clash With British Fans’ Unending Support by His Side – ‘I Need to Be Ready..’

Published 06/29/2023, 10:30 AM EDT

Follow Us

via Getty

Andy Murray‘s form has been quite transitory in 2023. He started the year well with five-set wins over Matteo Berrettini and Thanasi Kokkinakis at the Australian Open. The Briton made the final of the ATP 250 in Doha before slowing down in the clay swing. However, before skipping Roland Garros, he added a clay challenger title to his cabinet and followed it up by winning two challengers on grass.

One might think that the three-time major champion must have found his form ahead of Wimbledon, but straight-set defeats against Alex de Minaur and Holger Rune might suggest otherwise. In short, nothing can be made of Andy Murray’s form. But his experience and skill set can cause trouble for some of the top seeds at Wimbledon.

Andy Murray weighs in on the probability of facing a top seed

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Despite achieving his highest ATP ranking since 2018, Murray failed to acquire a top 32 seed for Wimbledon. It means that he can be drawn to face any of the top-ranked players in his opening round. Murray was well aware of the fact, but he also knows that the probability would be very little. He said via The Independent, “Ideally that wouldn’t happen right at the beginning. I would obviously want that to happen probably later in the tournament.

“This Is What Happens When You Practice With Andy Murray”: Novak Djokovic After Tennis Ball Fail at Italian Open 2021

He also mentioned that the possibility cannot be neglected and he could even end up facing Novak Djokovic in the first round. The Briton further added, “But at the same time, because of the situation, I need to be prepared for that. I need to be ready to play against anyone right from the start. I’ve had some pretty tough first-round draws in the slams over the last couple of years, so I need to be ready for that, and I think I am. Obviously, I would love to play against Novak again. I can’t remember the last time we played. It’s a long time ago.

Trending

Get instantly notified of the hottest Tennis stories via Google! Click on Follow Us and Tap the Blue Star.

Follow Us

via Getty

A potential Novak Djokovic encounter is something Murray would be looking forward but he would prefer that in later rounds after finding some form at Wimbledon. Moreover, the Serb would not really enjoy this matchup, albeit Murray’s physical decline.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Murray’s special record against Djokovic

We all know that Novak Djokovic has won seven Wimbledon titles and has ruled the courts of SW19 in the last decade. However, the Serb has never beaten Andy Murray on grass courts. In fact, his only Wimbledon final defeat came against Murray in 2013. Despite not facing the Briton since 2017, this fact will stay at the back of Djokovic’s mind.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

WATCH THIS STORYNovak Djokovic’s epic finals against Rafael Nadal, Dominic Thiem, Andy Murray, Wilfried Tsonga at the Australian Open

Another interesting fact is that Novak Djokovic hasn’t lost a single completed match on the Centre Court since that final. He went on to win the Championship in 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022. He lost to Sam Querrey on court 1 and was forced to retire against Tomas Berdych in 2017.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

Written by:

Raghav Tikmany

354Articles

One take at a time

Raghav Tikmany is a tennis writer at EssentiallySports. After completing his under-graduation in Commerce, his passion for sports encouraged him to take up content writing in the field of sports journalism. He has prior experience in text commentary.
Show More>

Edited by:

Akash Pandhare