Andy Murray ready to take centre stage PA

ANDY MURRAY is pleading with the Wimbledon crowd to give him the extra motivation needed to win his first major grand slam at the All England Club.

Murray is brimming with confidence following his victory at Queen’s Club last week and has shown he has the quality to compete against any player in the world.

The world number three insists he can handle the huge expectations which are being placed on his shoulders and can go one better than Tim Henman and become the first Brit to win at Wimbledon since Fred Perry back in 1936.

Murray admits he used to watch Henman’s amazing support on Centre Court and hopes they will show even more passion when he plays his first round match this evening against American Robert Kendrick.

Murray said: “I watched quite a few of Tim’s matches the last few years of his career and the support was great. Any time you can play in front of a home crowd in any sport is a huge advantage.

"Tim Henman played some of the best tennis of his career at Wimbledon. I think the crowd has something to do with that"

“In football and in basketball, playing a home match is a huge advantage. I view tennis as being the same thing. You've got 15,000 people behind you.

“Tim, I'm sure, played some of the best tennis of his career here [at Wimbledon]. I think the crowd has something to do with that.”

Murray admits he has learned a great deal from his quarter final exit against Rafael Nadal last year and will not make the same mistakes this time around.

Murray added: “It was after Wimbledon that I pushed on. I realized I needed to get fitter and stronger. I went away for three or four weeks and trained really hard over in the States, down in Miami in really warm conditions.

“I lost to someone like Rafa, who's probably one of the best athletes to ever play tennis. I needed to improve that side of my game.”

Can Murray win Wimbledon? Is there too much pressure on the world number three? Let us know what you think…