| Wimbledon on the BBC |
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| Venue: All England Club Dates: 27 June – 10 July |
| Live: Coverage across BBC TV, BBC Radio and BBC Sport website with further coverage on Red Button, Connected TVs and app. Click for more details |
There might be an especially warm handshake at the net from Andy Murray for his second-round opponent at Wimbledon on Thursday.
The name Yen-Hsun Lu may not mean much to you, but without knowing it, the man from Chinese Taipei helped turn the Scot into an Olympic and Grand Slam champion.
And it all came from one of Murray’s most painful defeats.
He headed over to the Beijing Olympics in 2008 bright-eyed, bushy tailed and happy to be a part of ‘The Greatest Show on Earth’ – only for Lu to dash his dreams in round one with a straight-set defeat.
It made Murray rethink and reassess what he was doing, on court and off, and started him off on a journey that would end with glorious gold in London four years later.
“Obviously in Beijing I lost to him in the first round, which was really tough,” Murray told BBC Scotland.
“I learnt a lot from that loss. I certainly became a lot more professional afterwards. I was so pumped to be at the Olympics, I got caught up in everything else and sort of forgot that I was there to win tennis matches.”
Stung by that experience, Murray made sure it would never happen again. His next tournament was the US Open, at which he made his maiden Grand Slam final, losing to Roger Federer.
The British number one then changed the way he prepared for major tournaments, developed a strong team around him to offer expertise in all the right areas and, eventually aided and abetted by Ivan Lendl, was a much-improved player by the time London 2012 came along.
“I was glad in London I managed to perform much better in the Olympics that time around.”
That is an understatement. Novak Djokovic was beaten in straight sets in the semi-final, then Federer in straight sets in the final. And Murray had a gold medal hanging proudly around his neck, the first of three major prizes he picked up in the subsequent 12 months.
Those US Open and Wimbledon triumphs can be traced back to the pain of that Beijing defeat by Lu.
“He’s a very, very good player,” Murray said of his opponent, who is ranked 76 in the world rankings.
“He’s been around the top of the game for a long time. He’s very experienced, he’s made the quarters here before and beat [Andy] Roddick. He’s on an 11-match winning streak on grass. He won the two Challengers in the build-up to Wimbledon and a final of the one before that, so he likes the grass. He’s a tough opponent.”
The same could be said of the Scot, of course, especially at his ‘home’ grand slam at the All England Club, where he’s produced some of his very best tennis.
“As you start to go through the tournament you start to think about the times when you’ve got to the finals or won the tournament. The Olympics sometimes as well. But at the beginning of the event I’m always excited to get going, I’m always a bit nervous.
“It’s always difficult going back on to Centre Court because there’s a bit of extra pressure, but I still get very excited to get back out on that court every year. The goal is just to try to settle down quickly.”
He certainly did that against Liam Broady with a straight-sets win, and the second seed can now relax into the rest of the tournament. Much of the talk in the media has been centred on whether Murray can stop the defending champion Djokovic – currently the holder of all four of tennis’ Grand Slam titles – and, indeed, whether there’s a real gap now between the world’s top two players and the rest.
Murray feels his reunion with coach Lendl can only help his cause as he tries to find his feet again on the Wimbledon grass over the next fortnight.
“I do think this year Novak’s obviously been the best player by a long distance. I’m trying to catch up and hopefully I can start that here. With Ivan back in my corner I think he can give me help in a number of areas, but change takes a bit of time.”
Hopefully, not too much time. If you believe in omens, it won’t have escaped your attention that Lendl was Murray’s coach when he won Wimbledon in the summer sunshine of 2013.
But can you remember who he played in the second round that year, on his way to victory? A little known player from Chinese Taipei called Yen-Hsun Lu.
| Wimbledon on the BBC |
|---|
| Venue: All England Club Dates: 27 June-10 July |
| Live: Coverage across BBC TV, BBC Radio and BBC Sport website with further coverage on Red Button, Connected TVs and app. Click for more details |
British qualifier Marcus Willis has described playing 17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer on Centre Court as “incredible” and a “fairytale”.
Willis, the world number 772 who came through six rounds of qualifying and the first-round proper, was beaten 6-0 6-3 6-4 by the third seed in round two.
The Englishman said: “It’s like a fairytale. I had a plan and believed, rightly or wrongly, I could win.
“It was amazing, I wasn’t really that nervous – it was just awesome.”
Willis was in danger of suffering a humiliating defeat when he lost the first seven games, but he gathered himself sufficiently to test Federer.
The British number 23 from Wokingham admitted he was capable of playing better and did not deserve to lose the first set 6-0.
“I thought I played OK,” he said. “I was in games, I just didn’t get on the board.
“He makes you play. He’s class, put me under the cosh and came out firing.
“I did enjoy myself even though I was getting duffed up. I loved every bit of it, though not the duffing bit. I loved getting stuck in, fighting hard.
“The plan was to get him moving, hit to his backhand but he’s not the best player of all time for no reason.
“He’s just ridiculous. The big points he played ridiculously well. It wasn’t like he was flashy. We all know he can be flashy, but he was just rock solid.”
Willis had previously earned far more as a tennis coach than player this year, with around £220 in prize money to his name before a spectacular upturn in fortunes over the last two weeks.
He is also set to rise to around 416 in the world when the new rankings are confirmed after Wimbledon.
The Briton admitted he nearly cried as he walked off Centre at the end of the match and said drinking a bottle of beer in the locker room after the match tasted “incredible”.
“I don’t know if I’m ever going to beat this, as a qualifier and pre-qualifier. I was a bit emotional at the end,” he added.
Willis said he might play in a Coventry League match on Thursday in what he wryly described as a “must-win” match and “kind of a big deal”.
“I have to rest my body,” he said. “I might play if I’m feeling OK.”
| Andrew Castle, former British number one and BBC Sport commentator: |
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| “In the old days – I’m talking 25 or 30 years ago – you had lots of people who had different styles of game and brought their character to the court. Nowadays, with the level of professionalism and physicality, that has gone. Marcus was a breath of fresh air. |
| “I’m glad the match was on when the kids were home from school to see tennis is not all just po-faced professionalism – you’re allowed to smile and have a good time. |
| “There’s a bit of the everyman about Marcus. He’s clearly not a machine, he is flesh and blood and the emotion on the face. If that inspires people then great.” |
Federer thought the Englishman played “very well”, adding: “As I was playing, I was thinking about the match. I was thinking, ‘This is definitely one of the matches I’ll remember’.”
The Swiss, 34, also expressed a wish that Willis is given time and space to develop his career after such an unexpected breakthrough.
“I said a few days ago, this story is gold,” said Federer. “I just hope the press respects his situation.
“It’s easy now to just use it, chew it up and then throw it all away. He’s got a life after this. He’s got a career after this. He definitely made the most of it. He enjoyed it.”
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| Wimbledon on the BBC |
|---|
| Venue: All England Club Dates: 27 June-10 July |
| Live: Coverage across BBC TV, BBC Radio and BBC Sport website with further coverage on Red Button, Connected TVs and app. Click for more details |
Agnieszka Radwanska needed just an hour to reach the Wimbledon second round with victory over Kateryna Kozlova.
The 27-year-old third seed from Poland beat Ukrainian Kozlova 6-2 6-1 under the Centre Court roof despite being broken once in the first set.
The 2012 runner-up now faces Italy’s Karin Knapp or Croatia’s Ana Konjuh.
“Of course. a one-hour match is always good. I’m just very happy with that win,” world number three Radwanska told BBC Sport.
It was the first meeting between Radwanska and 22-year-old Kozlova, who was making her main-draw debut at SW19.
The match was played under the roof with rain suspending play on all other courts.
“It’s just like an indoor tournament,” Radwanska said. “We have to get used to it. It’s good that we could play today.”
© Ray Giubilo Fifth seed Simona Halep looks to move on to the next round with what should be a fairly straight forward match…
Garbine Muguruza looks to continue to build on the success of her first grand slam title on Wednesday when she takes on …
| Wimbledon on the BBC |
|---|
| Venue: All England Club Dates: 27 June-10 July |
| Live: Coverage across BBC TV, BBC Radio and BBC Sport website with further coverage on Red Button, Connected TVs and app. Click for more details |
I think sport can play a role in taking people’s minds off more serious matters and Marcus Willis’ story would make anyone feel good.
For the world number 772 to be playing Roger Federer, arguably the best male player ever, on Centre Court at Wimbledon is amazing.
It’s just a great story that’s happened to a really good fun guy, and it’s nice that the public seem to have taken to him. If he was an absolute prat I’m sure some people would just think, ‘He’s an idiot, I’m not interested’, but he’s definitely the kind of person who deserves this moment.
I haven’t seen Marcus much over the last four or five years but whenever I’ve spent any time with him, he just makes you smile and laugh. I don’t know anyone that doesn’t like him.
So I hope he enjoys the experience on Wednesday but also that he keeps on playing beyond Wimbledon.
He’s proved over the last 10 days that if he can maintain this motivation and concentration over a whole season, there’s no reason he can’t be playing at this level a little bit more often.
There are plenty of stories about Marcus on the tour – he’s quite a character.
My physio told me that a few years ago he was at a tournament where Marcus was playing, and every time Marcus hit a ball, rather than grunting he was shouting “Djokovic!” or “Federer!” or “Nadal!” depending on which shot he was playing. For a whole match!
Another time, my fitness trainer went on a trip to Livorno in Italy when Marcus was 14 and he’d been called for his doubles match, but his partner had no idea where he was.
The place was right next to the sea and Marcus eventually turned up late, and totally drenched.
His partner said, ‘Where have you been?’ and Marcus explained that some of the guys had dared him to swim out to one of the buoys in the sea, so obviously he did it – in his kit – and turned up completely soaked.
I’m sure there are plenty more Marcus stories I don’t know about as well!
It’s great that so many people enjoy Wimbledon, and that the British players are providing a feelgood factor so far, but the way the country is run is more important than any sporting event.
There’s obviously a lot going on right now and I’m checking the news every night before I go to bed, then first thing when I wake up in the morning.
And as well as catching up on the news, I am also still trying to watch the football wherever I can fit it in.
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The media attention is the thing that I remember most from my first Wimbledon in 2005, because it was full-on and it was so new.
I was getting followed, there were photographers everywhere, at all of my practices, I couldn’t get anywhere without people wanting to talk to me. I was seeing myself on TV or reading about myself in the papers.
That’s hard when you’re very young and not used to it, it can take you a little bit by surprise.
Hopefully Marcus is coping with it all – I get the feeling he’ll deal with that stuff absolutely fine.
I was saying to my wife after he won his first-round match, ‘You’ve got to listen to his interviews because he’s just so funny.’ I heard his press conference was awesome.
I’m practising in the morning, so one thing is for sure, I’ll be heading home to watch the match like everyone else.
Andy Murray was talking to BBC Sport’s Piers Newbery.