Britain’s Andy Murray says he remains “one of the best grass-court players in the world” as he prepares to begin his Wimbledon campaign on Tuesday.
The 36-year-old, who won the tournament in 2013 and 2016, plays British wildcard Ryan Peniston, 27.
Elsewhere on day two, women’s champion Elena Rybakina and Ons Jabeur, who she beat in the 2022 final, are in action.
Men’s number one Carlos Alcaraz plays, while British wildcards Arthur Fery and George Loffhagen have tough draws.
Fery and Loffhagen will both be making their Wimbledon debuts and are up against Russian third seed Daniil Medvedev and Danish sixth seed Holger Rune respectively.
Eight-time champion Roger Federer’s achievements will also be honoured by a special ceremony on Centre Court on Tuesday.
The 41-year-old, who retired from tennis last year, will be celebrated before the start of play at about 13:15 BST.
‘No reason why I can’t have a good tournament’
It is 10 years since the first of Murray’s two Wimbledon singles’ titles – but the former world number one remains confident of his ability on grass.
“I believe I’m one of the best grass-court players in the world, and I’m physically feeling really good,” said Murray. “I prepared well, so there’s no reason why I can’t have a good tournament.”
He has not been beyond the third round at a Grand Slam since 2017, but chose to skip May’s French Open and prioritise grass-court preparations.
He won the Challenge Tour events at the Surbiton Trophy and the Nottingham Open, winning 10 matches in a row, but then lost in the first round at Queen’s Club to Australian Alex de Minaur.
That defeat meant Murray, 40th in the rankings, could not get seeded and he may now face fifth-seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in round two.
“I feel good,” said Murray. “I’ve obviously played lots of matches. Physically I’ve been feeling good. I’m ready to go.
“I want to go out there and perform at a level that I’m happy with. I do feel like I’m in a really, really good position to do that.
“I have the experience at this tournament. There’s only one player in the draw that has more experience of playing here than me, which is Novak [Djokovic].
“I feel very comfortable in these surroundings. I love coming to play the tournament here. When I walk out on to Centre Court to play, obviously I’m very nervous but incredibly excited to get the chance to perform here again on one of, if not the, most special court in our sport.”
On world number 268 Peniston, who will be making his second Wimbledon appearance after reaching the second round in 2022, Murray added: “I know him pretty well.
“We’ve practised together quite a lot. He obviously likes playing on the grass courts. He’s had some good wins on the surface. Lefty, moves very well – I need to be ready for that one.”
Alcaraz, 20, plays French veteran Jeremy Chardy, 36 while British number one Cameron Norrie, a semi-finalist last year, faces 22-year-old Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic, who will be making his Wimbledon debut after advancing through three rounds of qualifying last week.
Tsitsipas takes on 2020 US Open champion Dominic Thiem in one of the stand-out ties of the first round, with the winner to face Murray or Peniston in round two.
(BBC)
