Top seed begins quest for third Wimbledon title with straight sets win on Centre Court
Monday 3 July 2017 17:38, UK
Defending champion and world No 1 Andy Murray put injury concerns aside to open the defence of his Wimbledon title with victory over Alexander Bublik on Monday.
Murray's preparations have been far from ideal, losing his opening match at Queen's Club before having to miss training and pull out of two planned Wimbledon warm-up matches last week due to a hip problem.
He opened proceedings on Centre Court and following early signs of a lack of mobility with a pronounced limp between points, the Scot put his problems behind him to dispatch Kazakhstan's lucky loser Bublik 6-1 6-4 6-2.
Murray will continue his quest for a third Wimbledon title against Dustin Brown after the German completed a 3-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 6-4 victory over Joao Sousa.
Bublik, the world No 134, was making his grass-court debut, and made it into the main draw despite losing 12-10 in the final set to Daniel Brands of Germany in qualifying.
The 20-year-old, known for his unorthodox style of play, handed Murray an early break for a 3-1 lead following two double faults with the top seed sealing a double break with a swift forehand winner before serving out the set in 30 minutes.
And he continued the momentum at the start of the next, before Bublik halted a run of seven games in a row. Murray was forced to save three break points in the ninth game before eventually serving out the set 6-4.
The top seed delivered another blow to Bublik at the start of the third before play was interrupted by light rain. When they did restart, Murray held serve for a 2-0 lead when a heavy shower forced the players off for the second time.
Following a delay of around 30 minutes, it was quickly back down to business for Murray, who closed out victory with plenty of style and swagger in under two hours of action.
Murray, who is looking to become the first British player to defend a Grand Slam title since Fred Perry won Wimbledon from 1934-36, now has a 30-0 win-loss record against players ranked outside the top 100 at Grand Slams.
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