Murray talks up his chances of Wimbledon glory

Bags of confidence: Andy Murray

But with Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski having retired, the Scot finds himself
shouldering a heavy burden of expectation from the British public, especially
during the upcoming fortnight at Wimbledon.

The 21-year-old has also not been afraid to talk up his chances of achieving
something neither Henman or Rusedski managed in their long careers, but admits
producing his best form for seven matches in a row is a tough task.

"I showed by my results against a lot of the top guys that I can definitely win against them," Murray said at an overcast Wimbledon today.

"But it's obviously different to do it for seven matches in a row.

"Playing in a slam's completely different to the other tournaments because of the days off, managing your time on those days off and knowing exactly the best thing to do.

"I think the older you get and the more experience you get of playing in slams, you learn what you like to do and what works best. All of those things kind of add up.

"But in terms of actually on the court, it's about being consistent through the whole fortnight.

"You don't want to be playing your best tennis at the start of the tournament, I guess, but you want to make sure you're playing at a high level so you don't get taken into too many tough matches early on."

Murray insists it does not feel any different this year with Henman and Rusedski no longer around to deflect some of the attention and pressure, but the British number one is looking forward to putting all the talk to one side and getting back on court.

"Leading into the tournament it's obviously hard, but once you get on the court, it's the last thing that you're thinking about," added Murray, who missed Wimbledon and the French Open last year with a serious wrist injury.

"Obviously I want to win the matches that I'm playing, and you get awesome support when you're out there. It's just the build-up to it is difficult.

"But it's never been a problem for me in the past, managing the expectations, because I have high expectations of myself anyway."

Those who have higher expectations still are quick to point out the achievements of Murray's contemporaries, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

Nadal has won four straight French Open titles by the age of 22, while Djokovic - born just a week later than Murray - won his first grand slam title at the Australian Open earlier this year and reached the semi-finals at Roland Garros a few weeks ago and the semis at Wimbledon last year.

Asked if he was satisfied with his progress to date, Murray added: "Like anyone, I guess I'd like to be doing a bit better.

 "But I think in terms of how everything went last year and the way I've come back from a pretty serious injury, I think I'm in a pretty good position right
now with the next couple of months coming up.

"Obviously I didn't play because of my wrist and got pretty much no points to defend, so I'm hoping to push my ranking up even higher.

 "I think I've done well for a 21-year-old. Nadal and Djokovic have been great over the last few years and I haven't been at their standards. But I think in the next few years that's what I've got to be aiming at, and I believe I can do that.

"I feel really good going in (to Wimbledon). I do think I can do really well here. You've got to take it one match at a time. With the rain, all the things that can happen here, you just need to try and stay really focused.

"You could play two or three five-set matches in three, four days. You need to be prepared to do that if you want to do well at Wimbledon.  I do think I'm in the best physical shape that I've been in going into a slam. I just need to make sure the tennis is there."