Brits gear up for Wimbledon: Murray and co warm up at All England Club… now let's hope the rain stays away
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UPDATED:
14:23 GMT, 24 June 2012
Andy Murray and his British compatriots polished their preparations for Wimbledon ahead of the start of the Championships on Monday.
Although rain forced the players off for a while during a warm-up session at the All England Club, most of them were able to be put through their paces on Sunday.
Along with Murray, Heather Watson, Laura Robson and Anne Keothavong were spotted warming up.
Fighting fit: Andy Murray tests his strength on the eve of Wimbledon
Looming: Dark skies hang above Murray as he's put through his paces
In the spotlight: Murray arrives for his session at the All England Club on Sunday
Murray will not step out at Wimbledon until Tuesday when he takes on Nikolay Davydenko in the first round.
The Scot has angrily dismissed suggestions that he exaggerates his physical problems on court, but world No 1 Novak Djokovic said he believes showing your aches and pains projects a sign of weakness.
Murray came in for criticism at the French Open as he battled a back problem, with former Wimbledon champion Virginia Wade calling him a drama queen and John McEnroe telling the world No 4 to forget about it.
McEnroe also hinted Murray's problems could be largely in his head, a claim that was quickly shot down by the Scot ahead of his first-round match at Wimbledon against Nikolay Davydenko on Tuesday.
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The 25-year-old said: 'I think eight painkilling injections in your back before the French Open justifies a genuine injury.
'If someone is going to say to me my back injury is not genuine, they can come see my reports from the doctors, they can see the pictures of a needle about eight inches long in my back. I'm not accepting criticism any more because it's not fair.'
Murray made no attempt to hide his problems in Paris, particularly when his back went into spasm against Jarkko Nieminen, while he continued to clutch at his back and show he was in pain throughout the rest of the tournament.
Djokovic is not afraid to get angry on court, as he demonstrated in the French Open final when he whacked his seat so hard with his racquet that bits of wood flew across the court.
But the Serb, who is a week younger than Murray, feels trying to hide any physical problems is important in order not to give an advantage to your opponent.
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Djokovic said: 'I think it's very subjective. Every player has different behaviour, a different character, a different way of presenting himself on and off the court.
'But, of course, on the court you always try to, in my opinion, hide whatever you're feeling from your opponent. You don't want to show your opponent that you're struggling too much because you're revealing your weaknesses.'
Murray has been handed probably his toughest draw at Wimbledon, beginning with former world No 3 Davydenko, who is now down at 47th but still potentially a dangerous opponent.
The Russian's greatest moment came in London in 2009 when he won the first Barclays ATP World Tour Finals played at the O2 Arena, and he has won four of his nine meetings with Murray, although they have not faced each other for three years.
Murray said: 'It will be tough. He was in the top four or five players for a number of years. He's won some big events. He's won the Tour Finals. He's won Masters Series. It's going to be a tough match. He hasn't played so well this year, but he has a lot of experience and has been a top player for a lot of years.'
All smiles: Heather Watson takes a walk around the All England Club on Sunday
Wimbledon has a slightly different feel this year with the Olympics to follow at the All England Club only three weeks after the end of the Championships.
Murray is currently the only confirmed member of the British team, but he will not be allowing thoughts of medals to distract him from his grand slam bid.
He said: 'There's so many big competitions for tennis players right now with Wimbledon, the Olympics, and then a few weeks afterwards the US Open.
'You really need to make sure you don't get ahead of yourself or start thinking three or four weeks in advance. You need to make sure you stay in the present and stay concentrated on Wimbledon. When Wimbledon is finished, then I'll get myself ready for the Olympics.'
While Murray is not in action tomorrow, several British players are, led by Heather Watson, who takes on Iveta Benesova in a match that is likely to be played on a show court in the evening.
Johanna Konta, the former Australian who was cleared to compete for Britain last month, faces 28th seed Christina McHale in the last match on Court 17 while Naomi Broady meets Lourdes Dominguez Lino.
In the men's competition, 18-year-old Oli Golding, the US Open junior champion, will take on Russia's Igor Andreev on Court Two and Josh Goodall faces Grega Zemlja on Court Three.
