Wimbledon 2011: Murray not fazed by pressure at SW19
The British No1 insists he is feeling relaxed ahead of his last-16 clash with Richard Gasquet on Monday
He has the expectations of a nation on his shoulders, but British No1 Andy Murray insists the pressure is not getting to him as he prepares to continue his bid for the Wimbledon title.
The Scot, who takes on Richard Gasquet for a place in the last eight on Monday, says he finds it easy to unwind away from the court during the tournament at SW19.
“It’s actually not too much of a problem, once the tournament starts it’s fine,” Murray said. “In the evening I go home and there are a lot of distractions around me with my friends and family. Being in your own surroundings makes a big difference to your mindset.”
Murray looks to be finding his feet at the All England Club with three victories in the opening week, and the world No4 revealed that he has begun analysing his game by watching videos of himself in action.
“I’ve started to watch myself more the last few months,” he said. “I started realise it’s important for me to see the mistakes that I’m making and also the things I’m doing well. Reinforcing those things in your mind is important.”
Murray is refusing to look past Monday’s clash with the world No13, who he beat in a five-set thriller at the same stage three years ago.
He continued: “It gets harder with every single round. I have a very tough match against Gasquet, a guy who I have had a couple of close matches against in the past so I expect a really tough one.
“Obviously I want it to go in my favour, that’s what I plan on doing, but you need to go out and have a gameplan and execute it well to beat guys like Gasquet.
“He beat [Roger] Federer a couple of months ago in Rome and he has had the best French Open that he has had [reaching the last 16].
“The two times I have played him in grand slams I have found myself two sets and a break down both times so I expect a very tough game.”
And if the support of the Centre Court crowd was not enough, Murray has even had personalised messages from fans of his sponsor Head tennis’ Facebook page added to his racquet bag throughout his campaign at SW19.
