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London: Tennis legend John McEnroe has tipped Andy Murray to finish his career with more Major titles after the recent upsurge in form that saw him win the Aegon Championships on Sunday, ahead of the Wimbledon Championships starting on June 29.
The 56-year-old American has been sufficiently impressed with world No.3 Murray this year to think he can even overcome his nemesis and world No.1 Novak Djokovic in the future.
“For me I would be surprised, the way he has moved on from a year to a year and half ago, if Andy didn’t win a couple more,” McEnroe, who is due to arrive for The Championships next week, said on Tuesday.
“I think Andy’s chances are that he’s in the top four at every major he plays. He has put himself back in the mix and it’s taken him a while, but he looks healthy and dangerous and he has got respect. He is a threat and so if Novak has a bad day he has positioned himself.”
Two-time Major winner Murray began his preparations at Wimbledon on Tuesday with Amelie Mauresmo after a day off when the only sport he played was a game of snooker.
“I think overall he is 10 to 15 percent better and that is a significant amount at his level and that’s somewhere I would put it. I’m only looking from the outside but he is definitely feeling better about himself than he has for a while,” McEnroe, who won five Wimbledon titles, said.
“It is so difficult at that level and it’s about will and hanging tough. You saw how tough it was in Australia against Novak with the heat. Guys at different times look like they are falling over and you can’t get negative about it. You see Novak and it looks like the ambulance is coming and then he breaks your serve. It’s tough not to let that get to you in a negative way.
“It’s easy to say that you know what’s coming but you still have to deal with it. As far as playing — I believe that he is doing almost everything he needs to do,” McEnroe, who clinched four US Open titles, added.
“His liability is a little bit the second serve which is not at the level of a couple of the other players. I think his hands are good enough that he should use his skills at the net more often.
“He is starting to make that bigger impact off the return which is smart because he and Novak are the best. Because he has such sweet feel I think he should be in there at the net more — he’s a big guy but he doesn’t do that very often.”
