Nadal’s friend McIlroy backs Murray to copy his own recent major success

The hottest ticket in town at the All England Club was the Aorangi practice courts as Murray was introduced to golf’s new US Open champion Rory McIlroy, the Scot enjoying a lengthy chat with the Northern Irishman and John McEnroe.

McIlroy – who has struck up a friendship with No1 seed Rafael Nadal in recent months – said: “I’m a big tennis fan. I grew up watching Tim Henman here at Wimbledon and cheering him on every summer. And now that’s passed over to Andy.

“We’re all behind him and hopefully he can win his first grand slam.”

Spain’s Feliciano Lopez should not provide too much of an obstacle for Murray in today’s quarter-final.

The 29-year-old produced one of the best performances of the tournament to see off Andy Roddick in straight sets in the third round and is a talented grass-court player, but Murray has beaten him in all four of their previous meetings.

Lopez also had a very draining afternoon on Monday when he came from two sets down to defeat Polish qualifier Lukasz Kubot to reach the last eight at Wimbledon for the third time.

Despite his win over Roddick, Lopez has generated the most headlines this week for his nickname, Deliciano, given to him by Murray’s mother Judy.

The Spaniard knows which side she will be on today, however, saying: “I guess she won’t be supporting me any more.”

Lopez, meanwhile, is confident he will be fully fit following his four-hour epic against Kubot.

“It was a long match,” he added. “But I already played a few matches like this in grand slams. When you have a day off, you have time to recover.”