Masterful Murray Powers Into Second Round At Wimbledon

Andy Murray opened his 2023 Wimbledon campaign with a grass-court clinic on Tuesday afternoon, when the home favourite outclassed his fellow Briton Ryan Peniston 6-3, 6-0, 6-1 on Centre Court.

The two-time champion was rock-solid from the baseline and showcased top-quality movement on the grass in his two-hour win. After fending off the first two break points of the match in the third and fifth games, respectively, Murray converted six of 12 break points of his own to charge to victory and set a second-round blockbuster against Stefanos Tsitsipas or Dominic Thiem.

“It’s obviously amazing to be back here playing on Centre Court,” said Murray in his on-court interview. “I was quite nervous at the beginning, coming out I wanted to play well but I started off a little bit tentatively. But once I got the break in that first set, I played some good stuff as the match went on and there were some good signs there.”

SIR 👏 ANDY 👏@andy_murray cruises past Peniston 6-3 6-0 6-1 to advance in Wimbledon?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Wimbledon Wimbledon?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/RAT6JHVv9Q

— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 4, 2023

Playing under a closed roof in rainy London, Murray faced an early test from Peniston as the No. 268-ranked wild card went toe to toe with the former World No. 1 and twice carved out opportunities for the first break of the match.

Once Murray had saved both to hold for 2-1 and then 3-2, however, the 46-time tour-level titlist raised his level to spectacular effect. He struck the ball cleanly off both wings and frequently drew Peniston forward with clever use of the slice before picking off his out-of-position opponent.

Whenever Murray himself moved forwards, he was clinical. He won all 17 points he played at the net. Those volleying skills will have impressed eight-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer, who was watching on from Centre Court’s Royal Box alongside Catherine, the Princess of Wales.

“It was amazing to have some royalty here, but also some tennis royalty as well,” said Murray of his former ATP Tour rival Federer. “It’s amazing to have Roger here supporting the event. Last time I was on this court and he was watching was in the [London 2012] Olympics and he was sat in Stan Wawrinka’s box supporting against me, so it’s nice to see a couple of claps today after some good shots.”

With his triumph, Murray improved to 61-12 at Wimbledon, where he lifted the trophy in 2013 and 2016. The 36-year-old lifted back-to-back ATP Challenger Tour titles on grass in June but Tuesday’s win was his first on the surface at tour-level this season.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve felt physically this good coming into Wimbledon, which is really, really positive,” said Murray. “The last few years have been very challenging so I’m hoping I’m fit and ready for a good run.”

British No. 1 Cameron Norrie followed Murray into the second round with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory against qualifier Tomas Machac. The 12th-seeded Norrie reacted well to dropping the second set on Court 1, ultimately converting seven of his 21 break points for a two-hour, 32-minute triumph.

Norrie reached his maiden major semi-final at Wimbledon a year ago, when he fell to eventual champion Novak Djokovic. The 27-year-old lifted his fifth tour-level title in Rio de Janeiro in February and arrived at SW19 off the back of a quarter-final run at The Queen’s Club.

Standing in his way next at the grass-court major will be Mallorca champion Christopher Eubanks or Thiago Monteiro. Their first-round match was one of 34 men’s singles matches cancelled on Wednesday due to rain in the U.K. capital.

In the final match on Centre Court, Daniel Evans was unable to rally from two sets down. The Briton stepped on court to resume his first-round match trailing Quentin Halys 2-6, 3-6. Evans won a tightly contested third set to fire up his home crowd, but Halys ultimately prevailed 6-2, 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-4. 

The Frenchman will next play Australian Aleksandar Vukic with the winner to face eighth seed Jannik Sinner or former Top 10 star Diego Schwartzman.

Although Evans was unable to rally, 29th seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry was. The Argentine battled past Spaniard Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-7(5), 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 for his first Wimbledon main draw win. He will next play three-time major winner Stan Wawrinka.