Wimbledon – Andy Murray held on in the 1st round against James Duckworth

The Kingdom is reassured. It has been a few days since he was suspended from the latest medical news from Andy Murray, injured in the abdominals two weeks ago during his lost final in Stuttgart against Matteo Berrettini, and package at Queen’s in stride. The former world No. 1 and double winner of the tournament (2013, 2016) was finally there and there, on Monday, to hold his place on the Center Court and beat the Australian James Duckworth without batting an eyelid, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 in 2h43.

Of course, Duckworth, who himself recently experienced abs and especially hip problems – he had surgery in January and missed four months before returning to Lyon just before Roland-Garros – was something of a fairly ideal introduction for the Briton. It was still necessary that the abs take the shock and that was the case. After a hesitant first set in which he was broken twice, the Scot passed the second and was not worried once in the following three sets.

Andy Murray thus concluded the Center Court program victoriously on the inaugural day and we can imagine how important this victory was in his eyes. Firstly because he has never lost in the 1st round of Wimbledon in now 14 participations, which makes him the equal of Tim Henman, John Lloyd or Gred Rusedski (one unit behind Jérémy Bates, who remains the player UK with the most participations in London). But above all because we know very well that for Murray, like more or less in each of his appearances since the installation of his titanium hip in 2019, the risk is always high that it will be the last.

Nevertheless, this year, Andy Murray, finalist in Sydney and therefore recently in Stuttgart, returned to a level of tennis that we hadn’t known for a long time. Maybe not enough to make him a contender for the title (although…), but at least a very serious scarecrow. Anyway, an essential figure in this 2022 edition. We will know much more, no doubt, after his 2nd round against John Isner, survivor of a match in five sets against Enzo Couacaud.