Countdown to Wimbledon begins as Andy Murray wins at Queen's

Published on Monday 13 June 2011 18:20

SCOTLAND is bracing itself for another bout of "Murraymania" at Wimbledon next week after the British No 1 won the Aegon Championships in a spectacular final.

Andy Murray appeared relaxed after coming from a set behind to beat Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, describing the tournament as "one of the most fun weeks I've had on tour".

But yesterday's victory at Queen's Club in London will only add to the pressure on Murray to become the first British men's champion at SW19 since 1936.

This was the Scot's second Queen's victory - and it brought a clear reminder of the challenge ahead.

His brother Jamie tweeted: "Congrats to little bro for winning his 2nd title at Queens. Wimbledon next!"

First Minister Alex Salmond said: "Well done to Andy Murray for a fantastic win and a fine performance at Queen's. His victory the day after Elena Baltacha's final win is a great result and a double triumph for Scotland in the Aegon Championships. Congratulations to our Scottish winners.

"Their victory is a tremendous boost ahead of Wimbledon."

Murray, who was watched by his girlfriend Kim Sears, arrived at Queen's with doubts over how he would perform, after picking up an ankle injury at the French Open.

But, despite the concern, he was in a completely different frame of mind compared with June 2009, when he admitted shortly after winning his first Queen's title: "I was quite nervous today because no British player had won here for 70-odd years, so it got the nerves going, especially when I was serving for the match."

Perhaps his good form - which included a couple of trick shots - was partly down to the friendly game of table tennis Murray played with Tsonga on Sunday as the pair waited in the locker room for the rain to stop - it didn't, and the match was rescheduled for yesterday.

But the previous day's fun and games were forgotten when the pair finally faced each other on court. Murray said: "He was playing a different sport to me in the first two sets - I have never seen anyone dive so much. He is so much fun to watch but not much fun to play against."

Sports psychologist Amanda Owens warned friendly table tennis games would not be in order at Wimbledon against the likes of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic.

"Murray knows you can't be too friendly with your opponent prior to a match because it is unlikely to have a positive impact," she said.

"Playing table tennis wouldn't happen in a grand slam. Queen's is laid-back, a really lovely tournament. They've created an atmosphere where the top players want to be there, but it is different from Wimbledon.

"It would be poor preparation to see Murray playing table tennis with Nadal, Federer or Djokovic before a grand slam match."

Murray was helped by a patriotic capacity crowd, after tournament organisers made tickets available to the general public.

Thousands were snapped up on Sunday night and the remainder all sold at 10 each well ahead of the 12:40pm start to fill the empty seats caused by Sunday's washout.

It is the bookies who have most to fear at Wimbledon, according to Ladbrokes.

The company has reported a flood of money going on Murray in the aftermath of the Queen's win, leaving them in dread of a multi-million-pound payout should he win Wimbledon.

Alex Donohue, of Ladbrokes, said: "There's mega money for Murray. Punters can't get enough of him and we're fearing the worst day in the history of tennis if he's victorious."

He added: "We're firmly in Nadal and Federer's corner going into Wimbledon."

Nadal is a slight favourite with Ladbrokes for the Wimbledon singles title, at 2/1. Next come Federer 9/4, Djokovic 3/1, Murray 9/2, Juan Martin del Potro 16/1, and Andy Roddick, Robin Soderling and Tsonga all 33/1.