Murray wins Wimbledon vote from Henman

Published on Wednesday 10 June 2009 22:43

TIM Henman believes it will take "one hell of a performance" for anyone to deny Andy Murray the Wimbledon title this year.

The former British No 1 still rates Roger Federer as favourite for the title and he is confident that injured Spaniard Rafael Nadal will be fit to defend his crown. But Murray, who won his first grass-court match 6-1, 6-4 against Andreas Seppi at Queen's yesterday, boasts a 6-2 career record over Federer and he has beaten Nadal twice in the last year, including the US Open semi-final.

And Henman is excited about what Murray could achieve in front of a home crowd this summer. "Federer and Nadal are the favourites because their Grand Slam record is so good but Murray is a very close third," said Henman.

"The way Murray has played in the last 12 months, and his record against both players, it will take a hell of a performance if someone is going to beat Murray.

"I have said all along he can be the best player in the world one day and I think he will win multiple Grand Slam titles.

"He has definitely got a good chance at Wimbledon this year. Physically he is in unbelievable shape now. He is fitter and stronger than he has ever been and that gives him a great platform to work from.

"He is serving better, he is serving more consistently and harder. His back court and return game has always been pretty much as good as anyone's.

"And the exciting thing is he can still get better."

Murray eased into the third round of the AEGON Championships with a straight-sets stroll over Seppi. The world No 3 and top seed won the opening set 6-1 in just 22 minutes and although Seppi rallied in the second, Murray crucially broke his serve to win it 6-4.