At last, it has begun. For those of a British persuasion, Wimbledon has finally started. Some of us have been waiting a whole year for this moment; some of us in the press bunker have been writing about this moment daily for the past month. And all of us only believe Wimbledon has actually begun when Andy Murray plays his first match.
Wimbledon, then, is open for business now that the world No.3 is safely into the second round thanks to his 6-4, 7-6(3), 6-4 win over Mikhail Kukushkin. You will have to forgive us our somewhat one-eyed view of The Championships but we in Britain did wait 77 years for a homegrown hero to win the gentlemen’s singles. Since Murray brought that wait to an end in 2013, our little nation has followed his every move with slavish devotion.
When he came back to SW19 as defending champion last year, Murray was in no position to retain his crown. The back surgery he underwent at the end of 2013 had cost him three months away from the tour and then a long and frustrating 12-month comeback trail. When he lost to Grigor Dimitrov in the quarter-finals, he was nowhere near his normal levels of fitness and stamina. He was doing all right for a bloke who had had a back operation, but he was not in a position to challenge for major titles.
This year is very different. Opening the season by reaching the Australian Open final, Murray has gone from strength to strength. Coming into Wimbledon, he had won 41 matches – a more successful first six months to the year than at any time in his career – and he was rippling with good health. He had won the first two clay court titles of his life, he was the champion of Queen’s Club; this year, he was ready to win Wimbledon again.
As the crowd stood to applaud the arrival of Murray to Centre Court, they might have missed a little moment that may crop in a pub quiz or two in years to come. The support team for each player filed into their allocated seats and the two coaches settled in for an afternoon’s work.
For Murray, there was Amelie Mauresmo and for Kukushkin, there was his wife Anastasia. The two combatants are the rarities of the men’s tour – they both have female coaches. And before the match, Mrs K had warned that her husband’s greatest strength was his mind: “he is like a chess player,” she warned.
For a set, Kukushkin was doing what was expected of him. The world No.59 from Kazakhstan by way of Russia was staying with the pace, he was allowing Murray to warm up all his best shots but he was not causing the Scot any real problems. Mrs K sat quietly and watched while Mauresmo and Jonas Bjorkman (who will take over main coaching duties when Mauresmo goes on maternity leave once The Championships are over) looked comfortable and relaxed.
The second set was even better – Murray got the early break and even if he did drop his own serve, he broke back straight away. Right then, here we go; a straight forward path to the second round. But then two things happened: Murray’s first serve percentage dropped alarmingly and Kukushkin sensed an opportunity.
Murray dropped his serve as he was trying to close out the set; Kukushkin held and then broke Murray again with a fabulous return. All he had to do now was keep a grip on his own serve and he would be level pegging with former champion. And then experience and confidence took over. Kukushkin got a little bit tight and Murray battened down the hatches, stayed patient and ran down every ball as if his life depended upon it. That got him the break back and forced the set to a tie-break.
That was when Murray returned to his pre-tournament self – confident, aggressive and heading for the next round. Kukushkin was still pulling of remarkable winners from time to time – he can be a stunning shot maker – but he could not stop the Murray juggernaut from rolling on.
It was not Murray at his best but it was enough to get the job done. And in the first round, that is all that is needed. Wimbledon really has started.
