'Go there, have fun' - Andy Murray can play at Wimbledon without any pressure, says Alex Corretja

ByEurosport

Updated 24/06/2022 at 08:45 GMT

Andy Murray does not need to put pressure on himself at Wimbledon in front of his home support, says Alex Corretja. The two-time Wimbledon champion is bidding to win it for the first time since 2016 in what would be one of the greatest comeback stories in sport. Corretja believes just watching Murray play at Wimbledon is a "nice present". The tournament at SW19 begins on Monday.

Murray beaten by Berrettini in BOSS Open final in Stuttgart

Just appearing at Wimbledon should be a "nice present" for Andy Murray after his arduous journey to return to the ATP tour, according to Eurosport tennis analyst Alex Corretja.

Two-time champion Murray returned to SW19 last year after a four-year absence having required hip replacement surgery.

Murray opted to skip the clay-court season and reunited with his former coach Ivan Lendl in March to prepare for Wimbledon.

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In his most recent tournament in Stuttgart earlier this month, he reached the final before losing to Matteo Berrettini in three sets where he twice required treatment for a hip injury.

Murray has said he "still believes" he can win a third Wimbledon title, but Corretja says he should not play with too much pressure and "just have fun".

"Entering Wimbledon is like walking into his house for Andy Murray," the Spaniard said.

"He feels so comfortable. He loves the crowd behind him. He has won there already, so he knows exactly what he needs to do. I was not surprised that he would play well on grass [this season] because he loves the surface and he didn't play too many matches to be burned out.

"He adapted his calendar to be healthy for the grass-court season. He has played some very good tournaments. He played a final.

"For him, it was great because he played so many matches, beating top guys, and he's ready. The question is how he can recover from a very tough match over best of five sets.

"The pressure for Andy is zero right now. It's just 'go there, have fun'. Probably for the very first time in his career, he can go out there and whatever comes, it's [already] phenomenal. So he just should go there and honestly just have fun because he's in a position where he's done everything.

"Nobody was expecting anything from him. And from now on, whatever he does, it should be like a nice present. So just go for it, Andy, and just try your best."

Corretja believes Murray working with Lendl again, who helped him to his three Grand Slam titles between 2012 and 2016, can only be a positive for the 35-year-old.

He added: "Andy having Ivan there gives him trust, gives him confidence. Having someone with whom he had such great results, it's always good. It's always a good feeling, and especially now that the pressure is absolutely relieved.

"Before they had pressure, when they had never won a Slam or when they had never won an [Olympic] gold medal. It was much more different.

"Right now, it's just, 'OK, let's see if we can hurt as many opponents as we can and see who is capable of beating me'."

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Watch daily highlights from Wimbledon at 10pm on Eurosport 2 and discovery+ from June 27, as well as the two singles finals live on July 9 and 10.

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