Andy Murray won a relatively smooth first-round match in Wimbledon after defeating James Duckworth 4-6 6-3 6-2 6-4. Andy surprised the local crowd and his opponent at the beginning of the fourth set when he used an underarm serve to win the point.
Why the underarm serve?
During the press conference that followed his first-round match, Andy Murray explained why he used the underarm serve. According to the British sensation, the underarm serve is a legit tactic and he used it not to disrespect his opponent but because he noticed that James Duckworth was positioning himself quite deep in the court in order to return his serve.
Murray commented:
“He changed his return position; that’s why I did it. He was standing very close to return. He was struggling a little bit on the first-serve return, so he stepped probably two meters further back. As soon as I saw him step further back, I threw the underarm serve in.
I personally have no issue with players using it. I never have.
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.'”
Murray in Wimbledon, ranking, and results in 2022
At the moment ranked no.52, Murray has achieved a compiled 20-10 win-loss record in 2022. The Brit is now competing in Wimbledon where he ousted James Duckworth 4-6 6-3 6-2 6-4.
Andy Murray will take on the world no.24 John Isner in the 2nd round on Wednesday at 6:30 pm on Centre Court. Their record is 8-0 for Murray.
The Brit got to the final in Sydney (Sydney Tennis Classic) and in Stuttgart (Mercedes Cup).
The Brit won 46 titles in his career: 20 on hard courts, 3 on clay courts, 14 on indoor courts, 1 on carpet courts and 8 on grass courts. (See the list of his titles)