Andy Murray showed flashes of magic defeating Stan Wawrinka but cautious over Wimbledon
ANDY MURRAY showed flashes of the old magic at Eastbourne but said he has still not decided if he will play at Wimbledon.
Murray took just 77 minutes to swat aside former world No3 Stan Wawrinka 6-1, 6-3 in the first round of the Nature Valley International at Eastbourne’s Devonshire Park last night.
It was a hugely impressive performance in only Murray’s second game back after a year out with hip problems which required surgery and it booked him a second-round clash with fellow Brit Kyle Edmund tomorrow.
Murray looked sharp and showed few ill effects of his injury as he moved around the court well and returned superbly at times.
But he said: “I’m not going to decide about Wimbledon until nearer the time. I need to see how my body pulls up after a match.
Stan Wawrinka is a former world No3 and also on the comeback trail after knee surgery
“I’ll hopefully play at least two matches this week. I’ll see how I feel today, hopefully the hip feels good and I’ll take it from there.
“I’m obviously very happy to get the win. I played the first set pretty well, the second was a bit patchy and I was a bit nervous towards the end.
“But having not played for the best part of a year – and against a player like Stan who you have played lots of tough games against – I’m delighted to get the win.
“I said to my team that, as I have no ranking, you cannot control who you are drawn against. You get guys like this and just have to accept it and deal with it as best you can and hopefully win some of the games, so I’m happy.”
There were genuine flashes of the old Murray against Wawrinka but the Swiss certainly helped him with a score of unforced errors throughout.
Andy Murray said he will wait to decide on Wimbledon
Wawrinka is himself on the comeback trail after knee surgery but the Swiss was much further down the line than Murray, having played at the Italian Open, Geneva Open, French Open and at Queens Club before yesterday’s clash.
It had looked like a tough draw for Murray, but in the event if anything it was the Swiss who looked rustier.
Murray, beaten by Nick Kyrgios at Queens Club last week, already looked much stronger and fitter.
He started slowly but soon found his rhythm as he saved four break points, then broke Wawrinka’s erratic serve twice in the first set to scorch into a 5-1 lead and take the set.
Wawrinka simply never recovered. A brilliant running forehand from Murray set up another break to give him a 3-2 lead in the second set and then a lovely backhand volleyed lob made it 4-2.
There were signs of cobwebs in his game and one wayward shot saw Murray exclaim in anguish: “Oh my God!”.
