Andy Murray begins Wimbledon preparation with statement Surbiton Challenger win

Andy Murray got off to a roaring start at the Lexus Surbiton Trophy as he officially started his grass season. The world No 43 needed just 70 minutes to defeat Hyeon Chung 6-3 6-2.

Surbiton marked Murray’s first outing on the grass this season. The two-time Wimbledon champion has made it no secret that he is hoping to have a deep run at SW19 this year and pulled out of the French Open to have more time to prepare on the surface. 

As the second seed in Surbiton, he got a tough opening-round draw in Chung – the former world No 19 who burst onto the scene when he upset Novak Djokovic at the 2018 Australian Open. The Korean star has since been sidelined for several years due to injuries.

Murray drew first blood, breaking to take a 3-1 lead over the 27-year-old. He never let the now-unranked Chung get a proper look at his serve and raced to take the opener 6-3 in 36 minutes.

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The 36-year-old’s second serve stats proved crucial in the first set, winning 86 per cent compared to Chung’s 44 per cent. Murray then came through a monumental opening game to open the second set, needing almost 10 minutes to break his opponent’s serve.

The Brit rolled on the floor during one tough exchange but he was able to secure the break and continued to sail through the rest of the match. Chung was never able to even get to deuce on the Murray serve and found himself broken again so the second seed could serve for it.

And Murray booked his spot in the second round with a convincing win for the loss of just five games. The world No 43 is defending his semi-final run from 12 months ago in Surbiton and is bidding to push his ranking high enough to earn a spot as one of the 32 seeds at Wimbledon.

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The former world No 1 added a familiar face to his team ahead of his grass-court campaign. Doubles player Jonny O’Mara joined Murray in Bordeaux and will be working with the Brit’s team on an informal basis. 

The 28-year-old is an old friend of Murray’s and will himself be competing in the men’s doubles draw at Wimbledon. But a decision could be made about joining the Murray camp permanently depending on how the next month goes.

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