Andy Murray insists last year's painful Wimbledon final defeat to Roger Federer will spur him on to history as he bids to end Britain's 77-year wait for an All England Club men's singles champion on Sunday.
Novak Djokovic celebrates beating Juan Martin Del Potro in their men's singles semi-final match on day eleven of the Wimbledon Championships, at the All England Club, southwest London, on July 5, 2013. Djokovic had cruised to the semi-finals but needed five sets to defeat del Potro, in the longest ever last-four clash at Wimbledon.
Murray tackles world number one Novak Djokovic, the 2011 champion, on what will be an emotionally-charged afternoon on Centre Court where 12 months ago the Scot broke down in tears after his loss to Roger Federer.
"I think I'll be probably in a better place mentally. I would hope so just because I've been there before. I won a Grand Slam. I would hope I would be a little bit calmer going into Sunday," said Murray.
After his loss to Federer, Murray took Olympic gold at Wimbledon and then claimed his maiden Grand Slam title at the US Open.
On Sunday, Murray will attempt to become the first British man since Fred Perry in 1936 to win the Wimbledon title.
"I think I learnt a lot from last year's Wimbledon. The whole grass court season last year I learnt a lot from," said Murray.
"The one thing that kind of stands out is I knew how I needed to play the sort of big matches, or try to play the big matches after Wimbledon, because I didn't come away from that final kind of doubting sort of myself or the decisions I made on the court, because I went for it.
"I lost, but I didn't have any regrets as such."
Djokovic gained revenge for his loss in New York by defeating Murray in the Australian Open final in January although the Scot won the pair's only meeting on grass at Wimbledon at last year's Olympics.
This will be Murray's seventh major final while the Serb will be playing in his 11th major final and seeking a seventh title.
Murray needed five sets to beat Fernando Verdasco in the quarter-finals and four sets to see off giant Pole, Jerzy Janowicz in a bad-tempered semi-final.
Djokovic had cruised to the semi-finals but needed five sets to defeat Juan Martin del Potro on Friday in the longest ever last-four clash at Wimbledon.
Despite the four-hour, 43-minute epic, Djokovic, who spent a record five hours and 53 minutes beating Rafael Nadal in the 2012 Australian Open final, insists that fatigue will not be a problem.
"I'm not the first time in this situation. I was in worse situations actually before, like in the Australian Open 2012, or several occasions where I managed to recover, managed to win the title, managed to feel fresh and play another six hours," he said.
"Of course, when you feel good physically, when you know you're fit and you don't feel a huge fatigue, that gives you mental confidence and the strength that is necessary when you're playing a top player.."
.jpg)
0 comments:
Post a Comment