Murray optimistic about first grand slam win

LONDON - British tennis star Andy Murray is confident of a good show at this year’s Wimbledon and is optimistic about his chances of claiming the first grand slam title.

“I feel like I’m better equipped to win a grand slam this year than I was last year. And yeah, I think I have a chance of winning, but I understand how difficult that is to do,” the Telegraph quoted Murray, as saying.

However, he insists that the absence of defending champion Rafael Nadal does not guarantee an easier run to the final at the All England Club.

“It’s very easy to say, ‘Oh, Rafa’s not playing, Andy’s got a much easier route to the final.’ I don’t view it like that at all. If I got to the semi-final, I would have won five matches before playing him, so I wasn’t thinking about playing Nadal at all,” Murray said.

Being the No. 3 in the world and the first home player to win at Queen’s Club since 1938 with his victory in the AEGON Championship, Murray is being widely tipped to become the first Briton to win the men’s singles at Wimbledon since Fred Perry in 1936.

“You just focus on each match at a time and try and win one best-of-five-set match every couple of days and not get ahead of yourself. I feel like I’ve got a chance, but I’ll have to play great to do it,” Murray added. (ANI)