Wimbledon 2017: Sore winner but Murray not held back by his hip injury

The build-up to the defence of Murray’s title had been dominated by concerns over a hip injury and the world No 1’s poor form in 2017.

But the Murray who lost so woefully to Jordan Thompson in the opening round at Queen’s Club three weeks ago was nowhere to be seen.

The Scot continued to limp between points, as he had since resuming practice on Friday, but when it mattered his movement was just one of the things he did well in a 6-1 6-4 6-2 victory.

All that held up Murray were two brief rain delays, but he did not allow his momentum to be disrupted and eased to victory in an hour and 44 minutes, setting up a second-round clash with German-Jamaican Dustin Brown who, like Bublik, plays in an unorthodox style.

With pregnant wife Kim and the Duchess of Cambridge among the spectators, Murray was welcomed onto Centre Court with a roar as he fulfilled the defending champion’s duty of opening the tournament.

Bublik, a 20-year-old rap fan from St Petersburg with plenty of swagger, walked on court wearing large white headphones and immediately showed he was not overawed by the occasion.

Murray had to save two break points in the opening game, but, once he had done that, the first set was virtually flawless.

The Scot was hitting the ball crisply, finding the lines and anticipating everything Bublik could throw at him.

The 20-year-old is known for his love of drop shots and ‘tweeners’, but Murray is the master of mixing things up and raced through the opening set in just 29 minutes.

Murray has struggled for form during a season disrupted at regular intervals by illness and injury.

But nothing brings out the best in the 30-year-old like the lawns of the All England Club and his relaxed attitude in practice despite the discomfort hinted that he was feeling good about his game again.

Murray’s service speed was down, but his forehand, so wayward at times this season, was sharp and secure and his backhand equally strong.

A few errors began to creep into his game as Bublik fought to stay in contention in the second set, and the Russian-turned-Kazakh had his chance at 0-40 with Murray serving for the set.

But the Scot saved all three and then finished a rally over which Bublik had control with a forehand pass whipped beyond his stricken opponent.

Bublik could only shake his head and applaud, and a netted forehand on the next point gave Murray a two-set lead.

Two double faults from Bublik – his overall tally was 12 – handed Murray another break just before the rain arrived.

With it forecast to clear quickly, the roof was not deployed, and Murray was in a hurry on the resumption, swiftly reeling off the four games he needed for a thoroughly satisfactory day’s work.

Murray said: “I was a bit nervous (yesterday morning). I hadn’t been able to do as much as I would have liked in the build-up, didn’t know the guy I was playing.

“Obviously, first match at a slam, there’s always a few extra nerves. Once I got out there and got the early break, saved a few break points in my first service game, I felt good.

“I moved well. So for a first match, considering how I was feeling five, six days ago, it was really positive.”

It must be a little off-putting for opponents to see Murray limping one minute and then sprinting around the court the next, but the world No 1 insisted he is not even aware he is walking any differently.

He said: “I don’t know if that’s something that’s come over the last couple of weeks when my hip’s been sore or I’ve always done it, and everyone is saying that I’m walking that way because of my hip. I’m not in a lot of pain when I’m walking, that’s for sure.”

Despite being in some pain, Murray said on Sunday he anticipated being able to get through seven matches without issue, should he reach the final again, and was very pleased how the hip felt in match one.

He said: “It’s a little bit sore, but I was moving really good on the court. That’s the most important thing. Hopefully it feels good again (today).”

Opponents usually keep their distance from each other in the locker room, but Bublik engaged Murray in a chat. He had interviewed Murray at Indian Wells in March for the ATP website, asking the Scot for his advice, which included, ‘Don’t hit 20 double faults in a match.’

“He said, ‘Yeah, thanks for the advice about not serving 20 double faults’,” said Murray.

“I said, ‘You served a few’. He said, ‘I think I’m only on about 10 right now’. I said, ‘Well, there’s still time to get to 20’.

“It was just funny. It’s rare that you speak to someone during a match. I just asked him how he liked Centre Court.”

Murray subsequently finished off the match swiftly, leaving the world No 135 on a final tally of 12 double faults.