There are undoubtedly doubts about world number one Andy Murray’s form heading into his home Grand Slam tournament at Wimbledon, with the Brit looking to defend the title he won last year.

Though he may not be in the best form of his career, the Brit still heads into the third Grand Slam tournament of the year as one of the favorites for the title, and after triumphs last year and in 2013, he’ll be looking to emulate the likes of Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg, and rival Novak Djokovic and win a third title at the All England Club.

2017 results before the grass court season

It has been a very mixed season for Murray, with a surprisingly large number of early exits at some notable tournaments.

Things started well for the Brit, reaching the final in Doha before losing to Novak Djokovic, though he then suffered a surprise defeat in the fourth round of the Australian Open to Mischa Zverev. However, Murray rebounded from that disappointment to take his first title of the year in Dubai, beating Fernando Verdasco in the final.

Andy Murray after winning his sole title of 2017 at the Dubai Tennis Championships (Getty/Tom Dulat)
Andy Murray after winning his sole title of 2017 at the Dubai Tennis Championships (Getty/Tom Dulat)

Following that, the Brit suffered another surprising defeat, losing to world number 129 Vasek Pospisil in his first match at Indian Wells, before missing a month of action due to an elbow injury. The world number one returned to the tour in Monte Carlo, where he suffered another early defeat in the third round to Albert Ramos-Vinolas, though managed to make the semifinals in Barcelona the following week before losing to Dominic Thiem.

More early defeats followed in both Madrid and Rome, where he fell to Borna Coric and Fabio Fognini respectively, though he did have a good run at the French Open; in Paris, he beat the likes of Juan Martin del Potro and Kei Nishikori, before losing to Stan Wawrinka in the last four.

Grass court season

The grass court season is usually a good time for the Brit, and after his good run at Roland Garros expectations were fairly high, though it ended extremely prematurely at the Aegon Championships.

Andy Murray following his first round loss to Jordan Thompson at Queens (Getty/Clive Brunskill)
Andy Murray following his first round loss to Jordan Thompson at Queens (Getty/Clive Brunskill)

Murray’s haul of five singles titles at the Queens Club is unmatched and he was the favorite for the title last week, though suffered an extremely surprising loss to lucky loser Jordan Thompson in the first round.

As usual this was the only grass court tournament for Murray before Wimbledon, and for the first time since 2012 he heads into Wimbledon without a grass court victory.

Best Wimbledon result

As previously mentioned, Murray is twice a Wimbledon champion, having won in 2013 and 2016.

His first triumph in 2013 saw him become the first Brit in 77 year to take the title. He made the quarterfinal that year without dropping a set, beating Benjamin Becker, Lu Yen-Hsun, 32nd seed Tommy Robredo, and 20th seed Mikhail Youzhny all in straight sets. He had arguably his toughest match in the quarterfinals, coming from two sets down to beat Fernando Verdasco, before making his second consecutive final by beating 24th seed Jerzy Janowicz in four sets in the semifinal. He then claimed his second Grand Slam title by seeing off top seed Novak Djokovic in straight sets.

Andy Murray after his first Wimbledon triumph in 2013 (Getty/Julian Finney)
Andy Murray after his first Wimbledon triumph in 2013 (Getty/Julian Finney)

Three years later, Murray once again made the last eight without dropping a single set, seeing off wildcard Liam Broady, Lu Yen-Hsun (once again), John Millman, and 15th seed Nick Kyrgios to reach the quarterfinals. He then battled past 12th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in five sets to reach the semifinals, where he eased past tenth seed Tomas Berdych to make his third Wimbledon final. Just as in 2013, he once again won the final in straight sets, beating sixth seed Milos Raonic to win his second SW19 and start his ascent to world number one.

There is no doubt that Murray has not been at his best this year, though there is also no doubt that the grass courts at the All England Club can bring out the best in him. He may have a had an average season to date, though it should not be a surprise if Murray lifts the title for the third time.

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About the author
Oliver Dickson Jefford
20. English Literature student at the University of Southampton. Aspiring sports journalist from Hertfordshire.