I'm up to the task of beating Wawrinka, says Andy Murray

James Olley
29 Jun 2009

It is a reflection of Andy Murray's rise to prominence that he enters the second week of a grand slam today facing yet another opponent against whom he has a winning record.

Having already franked the form book three times, the world No3 will look to stretch that sequence when he plays Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland on Centre Court.

Murray has won four of their seven encounters, the latest of which being a comprehensive victory at the same stage of last year's US Open.

The Scot lost only seven games as he handled the rarefied atmosphere of an evening at Flushing Meadows far better than his 24-year-old opponent.

He faces another unique proposition with a tea-time encounter against the great British hope but the No19 seed insists he is much more adept at producing his best in such demanding circumstances.

"Last year I played in a night session at US Open for the first time," he said. "It is a very big stadium which made it very hard to play my best there for the first time, so it was not a good experience for me.

"But I learned a lot from that match and I'm very happy to have another great experience today. This is a bigger occasion. I think he likes playing on grass but I'm not too bad on it either.

"I'm very happy to play him for the first time on a grass court, especially here in a grand slam. I worked a lot this winter and in February and I am very pleased with my game. My serve is much better and I have improved my game a lot at the net."

Wawrinka represents Murray's toughest test at these Championships by some distance but the Scot practised yesterday as usual before a massage and an ice bath.

Just days after receiving a letter of support from the Queen, legendary film star Sean Connery became the latest luminary to throw their weight behind Murray's bid for glory - he described the former James Bond actor's call as "much nicer than someone trying to sell you a phone upgrade".

Another record attendance is expected at Wimbledon today as the pressure intensifies but the 22-year-old continues to handle the spotlight with aplomb.

"The expectation for me is I'm going to try my best to win the tournament," he said. "But its the people that are in the media and the people that read it are the ones that are claiming the expectation is getting bigger.

"It's just one of those things you have to get used to dealing with. It didn't trouble me last week and I'd be very surprised if it did this week."

Of more pressing concern is the threat Wawrinka poses. He has never been beyond the fourth round here and is more at home on clay but has a fearful backhand and is serving well at SW19 so far.

A win/loss record in 2009 of 18-10 displays palpable inconsistency but Murray is wary of the man that stands between him and equalling last year's quarter-final appearance.

"Wawrinka is a very solid all-court player," he said. "He moves well and is good off the baseline.

"He doesn't come to the net too much but he won the Olympic gold in doubles (partnering Roger Federer) so he can obviously volley reasonably well.

"He doesn't have one shot in particular that's a huge weakness. I'm going to have to play a tough match to beat him."

After a slightly nervous opening against Robert Kendrick, Murray's consistent intensity has been an impressive feature of his wins over Ernests Gulbis and Viktor Troicki.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who was beaten by Ivo Karlovic on Saturday, believes Murray's defeat in the US Open Final last September is providing a strong motivation.

"He wasn't expected to do well at the Australian Open or the French and now he is here he will feel for the first time since Flushing Meadows that he can go all the way," said the Frenchman.

"Losing to Federer will have been painful. Now they could meet in another final. He will be driven by setting the record straight and will want to get that first grand slam title."

After all, that is the only record that really matters.