Wimbledon, England—Andy Murray made his Wimbledon debut on Day 8 of the Championships—as a commentator. The two-time champion appeared on the BBC with Sue Barker and Tim Henman and chatted about his plans for the hardcourt summer as well as the goings on about Wimbledon.
Murray, who is expected to commentate the match between Rafael Nadal and Juan Martin del Potro for the BBC on Wednesday, has been mightily impressed with the play of Novak Djokovic and tabs him as a potential winner at SW19.
"I think Novak could beat [Federer and Nadal],” he said, when asked who might be able to defeat Roger Federer and Nadal. “Whether it happens or not, I don't know but he's playing really well," Murray said. "Like the Serena [Williams] situation, he hasn't been in the latter stages of the major events recently, but in terms of his level and the way he's playing, he's back to where he wants to be. Mentally he looks like he's where he needs to be, he's fired up, motivated and he's got a great shot [of winning the title]."
Murray also added that he liked to see the fire that Djokovic showed when he got into a back-and-forth with the crowd during his third-round victory over Kyle Edmund on Day 6. In that match the raucous crowd was belligerent and frequently interrupted the Serb while he was trying to serve. Murray says he liked the way that Djokovic defiantly handled the situation and while debating the Serb's reaction to the stress of the moment asked the question “Did it help him play better?”
Murray added, on the subject of Djokovic: "He said the mental side has been difficult for him. Maybe he suffered from a slight dip in motivation, which is completely understandable after winning all four Slams, it takes an incredible amount out of you. It looks like he's back to where he wants to be. It wouldn't surprise me if he went on to win the tournament."
Djokovic will face Kei Nishikori in Wednesday’s first quarterfinal on Centre Court.
Murray also confirmed that he has been practicing on hardcourts and that he plans to be in the draw at the Citi Open in Washington, D.C., which takes place from July 28 to August 5.