John McEnroe has tipped Andy Murray to win more majors after the recent upsurge in form that led to him winning the Aegon Championships.
The 56-year-old American has been sufficiently impressed by Murray this year to believe he can even overcome his nemesis Novak Djokovic in the future.
‘I would be surprised, the way he has moved on from a year to a year-and-a-half ago, if Andy didn’t win a couple more,’ said McEnroe.
‘If you talk about Andy’s chances, 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.’
Murray began his preparations at Wimbledon yesterday with his coach, 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 per cent better (than early last year) and that is a significant amount at his level,’ said McEnroe.
‘I’m only looking from the outside but he is definitely feeling better about himself than he has for a while.
‘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. 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.’
McEnroe believes that last year’s quarter-final defeat by Grigor Dimitrov was an understandable hiccup.
‘I credit him for sticking with Amelie when it was looking like a lot of people were questioning it.
If you were going to start something (working with a new coach) right before Wimbledon, it felt like it was asking way too much of someone who already had the pressure of being defending champion. I think it was very smart of him to give it some time and it seems there’s a comfort zone.’
John McEnroe will be commentating for the BBC at Wimbledon. – Daily Mail