Andy Murray said he is savouring every opportunity to play on Wimbledon's Centre Court after the two-time champion recovered from a slow start to defeat Australian James Duckworth in the first round on Monday.
Murray, who in 2013 ended a 77-year wait for a home male Wimbledon champion before winning the title again three years later, shrugged off dropping the first set to claim a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 victory and set up a second-round clash with big-serving American John Isner.
The former world No 1, currently ranked 52nd, has spent much of the past four years battling against a career-threatening hip injury which required hip resurfacing surgery in 2019 in an attempt to extend his career.
Murray has struggled with a litany of other injuries, too, and entered Wimbledon having recently sustained an abdominal strain during his run to the Stuttgart Open final in the lead-up to the Grand Slam tournament.
Now 35, the Scot is in the latter stages of his career but proved on Monday he can still be a threat at Wimbledon and on his favoured grass courts.
"It's amazing to be back out here again with a full crowd after the last few years. It's an amazing atmosphere," Murray said to cheers on the historic arena that is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.
"Obviously I'm getting on a bit now so I don't know how many more opportunities I'll get to play on this court so I want to make the most of every time I get to come out here.
"Hopefully I'll get another match here in a couple of days."
Encouragingly for Murray, who preserved his record of never losing in the Wimbledon first round, he appeared to be moving smoothly and said "the ab felt absolutely fine today".
Duckworth, who like Murray has battled back from hip surgery, had suffered eight successive Tour-level defeats stretching back to November, but came out firing. He broke serve at 4-4 with a ferocious forehand return winner and then served out the set with another big forehand.
The mood on court was subdued but unseeded Murray, who has coach Ivan Lendl back in his corner, was unruffled and pounced for a 4-2 lead in the second and went on to level the match.
Murray began to exert his authority in the third set as world No 74 Duckworth complained about the light. The set was most notable for a rare underarm serve from Murray, who defended his use of the shot, saying it was a legitimate way to make opponents think twice before standing too deep to return serve
"He was struggling a little bit on the first-serve return, so he stepped probably two metres further back. As soon as I saw him step further back, I threw the underarm serve in," he said.
Murray suggested the underarm serve might become more popular as players retreat further behind the baseline to improve their chances of getting a decent return on big serves.
"I personally have no issue with players using it. I never have," he said. "Certainly more and more players have started returning from further, further behind the baseline now to give themselves an advantage to return.
"The underarm serve is a way of saying: 'If you're going to step back there, then I'm going to possibly throw that in'."
The fourth set was played with the roof closed and lights switched on and for a while Duckworth was re-energised as he pushed Murray hard with some aggressive hitting. But the Scot seized on a poor Duckworth service game at 4-4, breaking when his opponent dumped a second serve into the net.
Murray needed no second invitation to rack up his 60th Wimbledon victory, sealing it when Duckworth opted to challenge a second serve rather than play the rally and Hawkeye showed it had hit the line.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
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Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
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The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
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Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
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Zimbabwe v UAE, ODI series
All matches at the Harare Sports Club
- 1st ODI, Wednesday, April 10
- 2nd ODI, Friday, April 12
- 3rd ODI, Sunday, April 14
- 4th ODI, Sunday, April 16
Squads:
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- Zimbabwe: Peter Moor (captain), Solomon Mire, Brian Chari, Regis Chakabva, Sean Williams, Timycen Maruma, Sikandar Raza, Donald Tiripano, Kyle Jarvis, Tendai Chatara, Chris Mpofu, Craig Ervine, Brandon Mavuta, Ainsley Ndlovu, Tony Munyonga, Elton Chigumbura
Biog
Mr Kandhari is legally authorised to conduct marriages in the gurdwara
He has officiated weddings of Sikhs and people of different faiths from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Russia, the US and Canada
Father of two sons, grandfather of six
Plays golf once a week
Enjoys trying new holiday destinations with his wife and family
Walks for an hour every morning
Completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Loyola College, Chennai, India
2019 is a milestone because he completes 50 years in business
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4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
FULL%20FIGHT%20CARD
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Bugatti Chiron Super Sport - the specs:
Engine: 8.0-litre quad-turbo W16
Transmission: 7-speed DSG auto
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Torque: 1,600Nm
0-100kph in 2.4seconds
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0-300kph in 12.1 seconds
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Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport - the specs:
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Power: 1,500hp
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0-100kph in 2.3 seconds
0-200kph in 5.5 seconds
0-300kph in 11.8 seconds
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Final round
25 under - Antoine Rozner (FRA)
23 - Francesco Laporta (ITA), Mike Lorenzo-Vera (FRA), Andy Sullivan (ENG), Matt Wallace (ENG)
21 - Grant Forrest (SCO)
20 - Ross Fisher (ENG)
19 - Steven Brown (ENG), Joakim Lagergren (SWE), Niklas Lemke (SWE), Marc Warren (SCO), Bernd Wiesberger (AUT)
At a glance - Zayed Sustainability Prize 2020
Launched: 2008
Categories: Health, energy, water, food, global high schools
Prize: Dh2.2 million (Dh360,000 for global high schools category)
Winners’ announcement: Monday, January 13
Impact in numbers
335 million people positively impacted by projects
430,000 jobs created
10 million people given access to clean and affordable drinking water
50 million homes powered by renewable energy
6.5 billion litres of water saved
26 million school children given solar lighting
