Wimbledon: Andy Murray delighted to see four British men through first round
Thursday 2 July 2015 15:48, UK
Andy Murray is delighted to see the strength in depth of British men's tennis come to the fore at Wimbledon.
Murray has long been a lone wolf when it comes to progressing in Grand Slam tournaments, but three other British men made it through their opening round matches in south west London.
He started his tournament with a straight sets win over Mikhail Kukushkin on Tuesday to join Monday winner Liam Broady in the second round, while new British No 2 Aljaz Bedene and Davis Cup star James Ward later secured first-round victories.
Murray takes a strong interest in his compatriots' results and while the British No 1 insists it is not his job to bring through the next generation of stars, he admits their success does help his own performance.
"It's good for British tennis. The more wins and more players we can have in these events, it makes a difference," said Murray who, along with Ward, has helped Britain into the quarter-finals of the Davis Cup - they face France at Queen's Club later this month.
"For me, it's nice, I know all of them fairly well. I've obviously spent a lot of time training with James, really more in the last 12 to 18 months.
"Aljaz I don't know so well, Heather obviously had a good win today, too."
Murray has called on the Lawn Tennis Association to ensure the momentum continues, as he added: "Is it important to my legacy? No, because that's the job of the LTA, to capitalise on any success that players have just now.
"That isn't up to me, I don't think. But what I do enjoy doing is being around the other British players, chatting to them, helping them, practising with them.
"Being around them is good for me, as well. It helps them too so it's win-win really. But I don't feel like it's my job to also create more tennis players. That's the job of the LTA."
