Andy Murray still believes he is among the world’s top players on grass and has set his sights on being seeded for Wimbledon.
Murray got his grasscourt ambitions under way for the season at the Surbiton Trophy yesterday with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Chung Hyeon, having opted to miss the French Open.
He served well and moved freely, despite a scare when he fell over an advertising hoarding.
Asked if he was still in the world’s top 10 on grass, he said: “Yes, I think so. It is hard to put numbers on it like that but, yes, I would fancy myself against a lot of them.
“Last year, I won against Nick Kyrgios, who made the final of Wimbledon, I won against Stefanos Tsitsipas. It is probably not his favourite surface, but he is one of the best players in the world.
“I was a set-all with Matteo Berrettini, who is quite clearly in the top few grasscourt players, in the final of Stuttgart before I hurt my abs. And I’m playing better this year than I was last year.”
Murray is edging towards being seeded for Wimbledon as the world No43 but needs impressive results at both Surbiton and Queen’s to be in the top 32 and realise those ambitions.
Of his chances this summer, he said: “I still want to win, I want to compete and see how hard I can push my body. I believe I can go higher. I think I need about 300 points, so I will have to do well over the next few weeks if I want to do that.
“If I have a good tournament at Queen’s, if you make the final or win the tournament there, then I would be seeded but I need to concentrate on the performances. If you start thinking about points, it is not necessarily the best way to look at things.”
