Wimbledon 2013: Talking Points from Day 5

Dream week for Andy Murray

Andy Murray

When the covers are pulled over Wimbledon for the final time in 10 days and the professional scribes begin analysing where the key moments of the tournament took place, Andy Murray’s first week in the championship will be one of most prominent.

Things couldn’t have gone much better for the British number one both on and off the court. On the court, he has looked almost faultless in his first three matches. Murray will say that this is the most important part of his game and this will please him the most. But in reality, the most important factor in Murray’s tournament happened two days ago.

As much as he will claim it hasn’t affected him, the fact that Nadal and Federer aren’t waiting for him in the semifinal will boost his confidence no end. Nadal has beaten him at three separate Wimbledons and everyone remembers how Federer left him in the final last year.

But even more crucially, names like Tsonga, Cilic, Isner and Wawrinka have also been dumped out early. Although they don’t pack the same name value of Nadal and Federer, they are still very dangerous for a big name to face. Tsonga and Cilic have given Murray nightmares in majors beforehand and the way Wawrinka played this year, everybody in the bottom half of the draw was relieved when Hewitt rolled back the years to beat the Swiss in straight sets on Monday.

The lack of dangerous opponents means that Murray should be incredibly fresh come the semifinals at least. And in this world of physically draining seasons and the battle of fitness that ultimately won Murray his first Grand Slam, a danger free run to the final could give Murray more of a boost then a five set thriller of a victory over Nadal or Federer.