Murray Rues Missed Wimbledon Chance: 'Who Knows What Would Have Happened'.Andy Murray fell victim to a near-perfect serving performance by John Isner in the Wimbledon second round, bowing out on Wednesday without a break of serve in a 4-6, 6-7(4), 7-6(3), 4-6 decision.
In contrast to his third-round exit last year at his home Grand Slam, the Briton felt his game and his body were prepared for a second-week run this fortnight.
"I could have had a good run here," the 35-year-old said in his post-match press conference. "It's one of those matches that, had I got through, who knows what would have happened."
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Despite abdominal issues in the buildup to Wimbledon, Murray had no physical issues on the court and briefly flashed the sort of form that twice led him to titles on the London lawns. But Isner's booming serve kept Murray's brilliance at bay, keeping points short and not allowing the Briton to sink his teeth into the match.
The defeat did little to dampen Murray's confidence, such was the 20th seed's serving dominance. He found fault with his own poor serving, particularly in the opening two sets when he made 44 and 55 per cent of his first serves, but said the result did not change his view that he could still progress to the late stages at majors.
"I think most of the players on the Tour would tell you that a match like that was won or lost based on a few points here and there," he reflected. "I didn't play well enough on those points tonight... Tonight's match, I don't see why it should change that view [that I can make deep major runs]."
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One key component to that sort of success at majors is being seeded. Murray entered Wimbledon at No. 52 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. He returned to the Top 50 two weeks ago — his highest position since 2018, but still short of earning one of the tournament's 32 seeds.
How weird that the British lost two big, booming, second-round matches late Wednesday on Centre Court. How telling that the whole thing felt weird.
It used to be that the sight of British players with bummed-out faces counted as some sort of ritual around this lovely place. They would lose, and English columnists would provide the most artful sneering on Earth. Now they’re crestfallen (Andy Murray) or fielding questions about pressure (Emma Raducanu).
“I could have had a good run here,” Murray, the 2013 and 2016 champion, said after he lost, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), 6-7 (3-7), 6-4, to the 36 aces of 6-foot-10 ace-walloper John Isner, No. 24 in the world, a 37-year-old American statuesque in both height and mobility.
"I’ve been asked this question in every press conference,” Raducanu said after she lost, 6-3, 6-3, to 55th-ranked Caroline Garcia of France, nine months after Raducanu delivered a stunning win at the U.S. Open. She said: “There’s no pressure. Like, why is there any pressure? I’m still 19. Like, it’s a joke. I literally won a Slam.”
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Andy Murray, Emma Raducanu exit Wimbledon, but Brits keep calm, carry.
"One of the reasons why improving your ranking and trying to get seeded is important [is to] avoid playing top players and dangerous guys like that early in tournaments," Murray said. He has been particularly focussed on improving his Pepperstone ATP Ranking since he lost to World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev as an unseeded player at the Miami Open presented by Itau in March.
Looking ahead, Murray fully intends to continue playing on the ATP Tour as long as he is "in a good place" with regard to his body. But he stopped short of guaranteeing a return to Wimbledon next year.
They spoke at a Wimbledon in which the sporting entity that goes by “Great Britain” sent 10 players into the second round — six male, four female — the most since 1984, when the 10 winners included Virginia Wade, Jo Durie, Anne Hobbs and eventual TV star Sue Barker. They spoke after a sporting nation representing a set of nations in one country has transformed itself to the point that its relationship with losing, once adorable and lampooned, has gone kaput.
At Wimbledon’s Court No. 12, it was Ukraine against Ukraine
It washed away merrily in a decade-long deluge of Murray and Lewis Hamilton and the 2019 Cricket World Cup and the 2018 World Cup semifinals and the Euro 2020 final and Raducanu at the 2021 U.S. Open and 196 medals in the past three Summer Olympics and enough stuff to busy a Queen trying to give out all the new titles.
"It depends on how I am physically," he said. "[If] physically I feel good, then we'll try to keep playing. But it's extremely difficult with the problems I've had with my body in the last few years to make long-term predictions about how I'm going to be even in a few weeks' time, never mind in a year's time."
