By Richard Pagliaro | Monday, July 3, 2017
Andy Murray launched his Wimbledon title defense with a sharp straight-sets win over Alexander Bublik.
Photo credit: Ashley Western/Camerasport
It’s not often that the Wimbledon champion’s Centre Court debut turns into a chat session.
Andy Murray launched his Wimbledon title defense ripping 29 winners in a 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 dissection of Alexander Bublik.
Watch: Dustin Brown Sets Bar High At Wimbledon
It was a relaxed performance with some unpredictable shot making and an off-court rally featuring Murray rapping with the flighty lucky loser, who took a sardonic approach to his Wimbledon debut.
During a rain delay, the pair spent some time discussing the combustible Kazakh’s grip-and-rip approach to serving: Bublik bashed 15 winners against 12 double faults, including a 134 mph second-serve, which was eight miles faster than Murray’s fastest first serve.
“He said to me just before he went on, he said, ‘Yeah, thanks for the advice about not serving 20 double-faults,’ “ Murray said recounting their chat. “I said, You served a few.
“He said, Yeah, I think I'm only on about 10 right now.
“I said, Well, there's still time to get to 20. But, yeah, it was just funny. It's rare that you speak to someone, like, during a match. Just asked him how he liked Centre Court, all that stuff, yeah. Just had a little chat.”
The two-time champion created positive talking points with this pain-free performance.
Seeing Murray, who looked hobbled battling a hip issue in practice last week, move smoothly and exude such positive energy on court—looking almost jovial at times—had to be a soothing feeling for the faithful on Murray mountain.
“My hip felt good. It's a little bit sore, but I was moving really good on the court today,” Murray said afterward. “You know, that's the most important thing. If you're in a little bit of pain, but you can still run as you normally do, that doesn't affect how you play. It's when it's affecting your movement and some of the shots that you play when it becomes a problem.
“Today, you know, certainly wasn't the case at all. So I'm really positive about that because it's the most amount of points I played in a match since obviously—since against my match against Jordan Thompson (at Queen’s Club). I haven't played sets like that in practice really either. It was really positive. Hopefully feels good again tomorrow.”
Showing his all-court skills, Murray won 29 of 37 trips to net and saved all six break points he faced in a clinical one hour, 43-minute victory.
The 30-year-old Murray will face grass-court acrobat Dustin Brown in the second round.
Brown, who famously upset Rafael Nadal at the 2015 Wimbledon, roared back from a one-set, 3-5 hole to topple Joao Sousa, 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-4. Murray dropped just eight games picking apart Brown’s forehand in their lone prior meeting at the 2010 US Open.
"Either way he's the favorite," Brown said. "I can be pretty relaxed and try and play my game. If I lose in three sets no one is going to worry. I will just go out there and try my best."
“I know Dustin pretty well. We get on well with each other,” Murray said. “We message each other from time to time. I like him. He's really, really a nice guy.
“In terms of the match, I expect him to be very aggressive. I think he'll go for his shots. I think he'll come forward a lot. You know, he's unpredictable. You know he's going to go for it. Also you know he hits a lot of dropshots. He can play slice. Sometimes he hits two first serves, goes for a huge second serve. It's not easy to play players like that.
“He's obviously had a big win here in the past against Rafa. Whether he respects me or not, I'm going to go out on the court, you know, expecting to play great tennis, give it a good shot. I'll need to be ready.”
Stress serves as fire for players. When they can channel the flame into action it can fuel them, but when it blazes out of control it can consume them.
Losses lit up Murray’s intensity level in Paris.
The top seed fell to Borna Coric in his Madrid second-round match and was outclassed by Fabio Fognini in his Rome opener. Shrugging off those miss-step, Murray surged to the Roland Garros semifinals where he pushed 2015 champion Stan Wawrinka to five sets.
While the 30-year-old Scot’s health is clearly the top priority, tactical clarity is key to an extended Wimbledon run, ESPN analyst Brad Gilbert, Murray’s former coach, told Tennis Now.
“I think game-wise, you know, he struggled a little bit on offense and defense. Does he want to play more defense, or most of?” Gilbert told Tennis Now. “I do think that grass, without a doubt, is his best surface. He still moves brilliantly on this surface. He can defend and return as well as anybody.
"He didn't have any real run or results coming into the French, and he got to the semis. I still think on this surface, he could easily make a deep run because of how comfortable he is on this surface. But guys are playing with renewed confidence now against him.”
Murray, who scored his 37th straight triumph in a Grand Slam opener, settled his own pre-match nerves with a declarative start.
“I was a bit nervous this morning. Yeah, I hadn't been able to do as much as I would have liked in the buildup,” Murray said. “Didn't know the guy I was playing. Obviously, first match at a slam, there's always a few extra nerves.
“Once I got out there and got the early break, saved a few breakpoints my first service game, I felt good. I moved well. So, yeah, for a first match, considering how I was feeling five, six days ago, it was really positive.”