Andy Murray's potential route to 2017 Wimbledon glory
Tuesday 11 July 2017 15:53, UK
Can Andy Murray join the great Fred Perry as a three-time Wimbledon champion? Sky Sports plots Murray's route to defending his All England Club crown.
First Round - Alexander Bublik [Age 20, ranked 134 - won 6-1 6-4 6-2]
Murray opened his campaign against 20-year-old lucky loser Bublik. The world No 134 lost 12-10 in a fifth set to Daniel Brands in the final round of qualifying but the Russian-born Kazakh was unable to cope with the variety and confidence shown by the top seed. The Scot put his recent problems behind and movement was just one of the things he did well in a comprehensive victory.
Second Round - Dustin Brown [Age 32, ranked 94 - won 6-3 6-2 6-2]
Third Round - Fabio Fognini [Age 30, ranked 29 - won 6-2 4-6 6-1 7-5]
Fourth Round - Benoit Paire [Age 28, ranked 46 - won 7-6 (7-1) 6-4 6-4]
Murray rode another maverick storm by beating the enigmatic Frenchman in straight sets. Paire had his moments but much like the first week Murray was too strong at the key moments and clinched a relatively routine victory.
Murray had won their only previous meeting but not without a hint of difficulty - he battled back from a set down and break down in the decider to win their match in Monte Carlo last year - and despite the occasional scare as Paire broke the world no 1's serve in both the first and second set, Murray stood firm to advance to the last eight for the 10th year in succession.
Quarter-Finals - Sam Querrey [Age 29, ranked 28]
Murray will face a different type of test for the first time after big-serving American Sam Querrey beat Kevin Anderson in five sets on Monday.
Querrey had already ended Jo-Wilfried Tsonga's hopes of improving on his record as a two-time semi-finalist in a match that ran over two days before edging out Anderson and the 28th seed famously upset Novak Djokovic in four sets at the All England Club last year.
He followed up by advancing to the quarter-final where he lost to eventual runner-up Milos Raonic but he is 1-7 in meetings against Murray, who won their only previous meeting at Wimbedon in the fourth round in 2010.
The American has hit 99 aces this tournament, the second highest tally of players still involved behind Gilles Muller.
He also holds the record for the most consecutive aces in a match since records began, hitting 10 in a contest against James Blake in 2007.
Semi-Finals - Marin Cilic [Age 28, ranked 6] or Gilles Muller [Age 34, ranked 26]
The 2014 US Open champion Cilic reached a fourth successive Wimbledon quarter-final and will look to reach his first semi-final at the All England Club on Wednesday.
He is up against Rafael Nadal's conqueror Gilles Muller, who is arguably the form player in the draw.
Cilic, however, beat Muller in a tight three-setter at Queen's last month and the Croatian is a dark horse for the title.
Final - Roger Federer [Age 35, ranked 5] or Novak Djokovic [Age 30, ranked 4]
If it's not Federer waiting for Murray, then his old foe Djokovic could be the man standing in the way of claiming back-to-back crowns. The Serb will have Andre Agassi by his side and should he stand up to the mouth-watering match-up with Juan Martin del Potro in round three, then we're in for a repeat of the 2013 final which Murray won in three gruelling sets.
For those on the move, we will have Wimbledon covered via our website skysports.com/tennis, our app for mobile devices and iPad, or follow our Twitter account @SkySportsTennis to join in the conversation. Can Andy Murray defend his All England Club title this summer? Have your say...
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