Wimbledon 2017: Murray is wary of allowing Querrey to lead

Andy Murray is hoping service will be of the highest order in his attempt to continue his Wimbledon journey today.
Andy Murray practises his serve during a training session with coach Ivan Landl at Wimbledon yesterday. The champion today faces Sam Querrey in the last eight (Picture: John Walton/PA Wire).Andy Murray practises his serve during a training session with coach Ivan Landl at Wimbledon yesterday. The champion today faces Sam Querrey in the last eight (Picture: John Walton/PA Wire).
Andy Murray practises his serve during a training session with coach Ivan Landl at Wimbledon yesterday. The champion today faces Sam Querrey in the last eight (Picture: John Walton/PA Wire).

Murray faces 6ft 6ins American Sam Querrey in the quarter-finals on Centre Court as he attempts to reach the last four at SW19 for the eighth time in ten years.

The defending champion dispatched France’s Benoit Paire on Monday despite worries over his fitness following a hip injury.

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The niggle has prevented the world No 1 from pushing through on his first serve – an area which will be closely scrutinised against Querrey today.

The American has one of the most potent serves in tennis and has used it to good effect as he has battled to the last eight, twice winning five-set matches.

Murray admitted his serve has not been as forceful as last year, when he won his second title at the All England Club.

The Scot insisted it had not been a conscious decision to take pace off his first serve and maintains his second serve, –which has been criticised throughout his glittering career – has kept pace with previous tournaments.

“I’m not trying to place it more,” Murray said.

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“I do think most of the players seem to be down a bit this year. I don’t know if the balls are a little bit slower.

“I could be wrong, but my second serve speed seems fairly decent, around what it usually is.

“The first serve speeds certainly were a little bit down in some of the matches. I’m not sure exactly why that is.”

Ahead of the last eight encounter with Querrey, Murray added: “I’ll need to make sure I’m serving well and not letting him dictate too much.

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“When he’s standing up on the baseline, hitting forehands, dictating, he’s a very dangerous player.”

It will be the first meeting between the two players at Wimbledon.

However, Murray has won all but one of their eight previous matches, including at the Australian Open earlier this year.

Querrey has garnered a reputation for a dominant first serve and a strong grass-court game, which helped him win the Queen’s title in 2010.

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The 29-year-old Californian outserved Kevin Anderson in the fourth round over the maximum distance on Monday, having knocked 12th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga out in a marathon contest that spread over Friday and Saturday last week.

The American, seeded 24th, also reached the last eight at Wimbledon 12 months ago, but has yet to make the last four in a grand slam and has a highest world ranking of 23.

Murray said: “He’s obviously got a big serve and goes for his shots. He’s a very aggressive player.

“Against Paire, I maybe played one or two service games in the first set that weren’t the best. Against him (Querrey), you can’t really afford that.

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“He’s not an easy guy to break. When he’s ahead, he can serve well. He’s a good frontrunner. “

Johanna Konta’s run to the semi-finals of the women’s singles has meant Murray has, for a change, had to share the limelight into the second week.

Murray has only had another British player join him in the second week once before when Laura Robson reached the fourth round in 2013 – the year the Scot won his first title at SW19.

Murray said: “I’m in the quarter-finals of Wimbledon. I don’t feel calmer this year than I did in previous years. I’m still pumped to get out there regardless of whether there’s other British players playing the tournament or not.

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“I’m here to try and do as well as I can. Now that I’m in the quarters, obviously I want to keep going further. I don’t feel much different just because there’s another Briton in the draw.”

Concerns over Murray’s hip injury have shadowed his involvement at the Championships and he has shown signs of pain in his wins over Paire, Fabio Fognini, Dustin Brown and qualifier Alexander Bublik.

The injury forced the 30-year-old to miss two exhibition matches in the run-up to the tournament, causing further disruption to his preparations following his first round exit at Queen’s.

After his straight sets win over Paire, Murray claimed to feel as fresh as he has all championship.

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“It was much, much better in terms of how I hit the ball – how clean I was hitting it, how aggressive I was able to be on the ball,” he said.

“My timing was better. I felt like I hit way more winners from the back of the court. Like against Fabio, I hit three or four in four sets.

“It’s not easy to win matches like that. It’s really hard when you’re not hitting many winners, not getting many free points. I felt like I did. I hit 25 winners in total, which is a lot better than it was the other day.”