Andy Murray insists he will have 'to be ready' when he faces Dustin Brown at Wimbledon
"It's a little bit sore, but I was moving really good on the court today. That's the most important thing"
Tuesday 4 July 2017 06:17, UK
Andy Murray insists his "hip felt good" and says he will be ready for showman Dustin Brown in the second round of Wimbledon, saying "whether he respects me or not, I'll need to be ready."
Top seed Murray begins his title defence with a confidence-boosting victory over maverick debutant Alexander Bublik 6-1 6-4 6-2.
Murray shrugged off two brief rain delays and showed little sign of the hip problem which had plagued him in the build-up.
"My hip felt good. It's a little bit sore, but I was moving really good on the court today. You know, that's the most important thing," said Murray during his press conference at the All England Club.
"If you're in a little bit of pain, but you can still run as you normally do, that doesn't affect how you play. It's when it's affecting your movement and some of the shots that you play when it becomes a problem.
"Today, you know, certainly wasn't the case at all. So I'm really positive about that because it's the most amount of points I played in a match since obviously - since against my match against Jordan Thompson. I haven't played sets like that in practice really either. It was really positive. Hopefully feels good again tomorrow."
Murray did not let Bublik's array of unconventional shots, or two rain breaks, throw him off course as he secured a second-round clash with Brown. The German-Jamaican famously shocked Rafael Nadal in 2015, but the Scot is looking forward to taking on his friend on Wednesday.
"I know Dustin pretty well," said Murray. "We get on well with each other. We message each other from time to time. I like him. He's really, really a nice guy.
"For anyone watching, he tends to come out with some great shots. Very entertaining guy to watch. He's a great mover. Really, really good athlete. He's a good personality, as well. Always fun, fun guy to watch.
"He's obviously had a big win here in the past against Rafa. Whether he respects me or not, I'm going to go out on the court, expecting to play great tennis, give it a good shot. I'll need to be ready."
Brown, who made the second round with a four-set win over Portugal's Joao Sousa, said it would be an "honour" to play Murray, seven years after their only other meeting at the US Open.
Murray won that clash in straight sets and Brown is expecting another stern examination.
"It's tough. Andy is one of the best returners out there," said Brown. "Like I said, I feel like the balls are a lot slower and it's not making it as easy to play aggressive and play only serve and volley.
"So just gonna have to try and find a way, be aggressive and try and not have him play the type of game he wants to play. Just to try and take them out of their comfort zone."
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