“Playing well enough to beat most of the players in the draw,” confident Murray looks forward to next

He’s got pedigree, and the home crowd backing him at Wimbledon.

British legend Andy Murray, now 36 and boasting a lifetime 61-12 record at SW19, also has confidence – in spades.

“I’m playing well enough to beat most of the players, I think, in the draw if I play well,” he said on Tuesday after trouncing fellow Brit Ryan Peniston, 6-3, 6-0, 6-1 to set a second-round clash with either Dominic Thiem or Stefanos Tsitsipas (Thiem led by a set when the match was suspended due to rain in Day 2).

You might also like this

‘Nice to see Roger clapping some good shots!’ Murray in jovial form in front of Federer at Wimbledon

tennis majors

Murray focused on performance as much as results as he prepares for another shot at Wimbledon

tennis majors

“Physically, I feel good – I feel absolutely fine right now.”

A far cry from his tempestuous run at this year’s Australian Open, where Murray needed 10 hours and 34 minutes to reach the third round, Murray was streamlined and efficient on Tuesday, saving both break points he faced and cruising past Peniston in a cool two hours and one minute.

That should set him up nicely for his next match, with either Thiem or Tsitsipas forced into playing on back-to-back days because of the rain.

Murray expressed supreme confidence before the tournament when he said: “I have the experience at this tournament. There’s only one player in the draw that has more experience of playing here than me, which is Novak… I need to use that to my advantage and use my experience to my advantage and take confidence from that.

“I do believe I’m one of the best grass court players in the world, and I’m physically feeling really good. I prepared well, so there’s no reason why I can’t have a good tournament.”

After one uncomplicated round, it’s clear that the great Scot means business on the grass this year.

Additionally, things do indeed appear to be setting up nicely for the two-time Wimbledon champion. And he’s as happy about that as he is about his current form.

“Any time you get the chance to finish a match quickly and can conserve some energy is a really positive thing,” Murray said. “It’s not necessarily confidence that I gain from it, it just means that hopefully the deeper I go in the tournament the fresher I will be.”