Bjorkman belief in Murray chances

Andy Murray’s coach Jonas Bjorkman believes his protege is already hitting the levels needed to win more grand slams as the British number one gets set for his Wimbledon quarter-final on Wednesday.

Bjorkman belief in Murray chances

Andy Murray’s coach Jonas Bjorkman believes his protege is already hitting the levels needed to win more grand slams as the British number one gets set for his Wimbledon quarter-final on Wednesday.

Bjorkman joined Amelie Mauresmo on Murray’s backroom team in March and has helped the Scot scale new heights, as the Briton enjoyed his best ever season on clay and is currently on a nine-match winning streak on grass.

Up next for Murray at the All England Club is Canada’s Vasek Pospisil, who is yet to win following the pair’s three previous meetings and had never gone past a major third round before this tournament.

It means Murray is hot favourite to make the semi-finals where he would be two wins away from clinching his second Wimbledon title and third grand slam overall.

“Has he got more grand slams wins in him? I think he has,” Bjorkman told Press Association Sport.

“I think he’s already there, he’s so committed to his tennis.

“He’s working so hard, extremely hard, and I’m so impressed with the work he puts in every day.

“He really knows what it takes for him to achieve his goals. I think he’s already on that way up.”

Murray has had to handle the annual wave of expectation at SW19 but the 28-year-old has said the passionate support always outweighs any burden of pressure.

Using the crowd to boost his performance has become an emerging feature of Murray’s game in recent months and Bjorkman says a home grand slam presents huge opportunity for any player.

“I think it’s great, obviously I’ve seen it around when Tim (Henman) was playing and I was playing,” Bjorkman said.

“Any player who would have the opportunity to play a grand slam at home would love that.

“It’s a privilege to be able to play a grand slam in front of your home crowd, it’s a dream for anyone so it’s a great opportunity.”

Pospisil, who is ranked 56th in the world, played two five-set matches on Monday, beating Viktor Troicki in the singles before later losing to Murray’s brother Jamie and John Peers in the doubles tournament.

Murray hopes those demanding contests will work in his favour on Wednesday but insists extra time on court can also have its advantages.

“Pospisil had a great win over Viktor Troicki in singles earlier in the day, which meant he played 10 sets on Monday,” Murray told the BBC.

“I don’t know if that will affect him when we play on Wednesday but, selfishly, I hope so. He’s played a lot of tennis here with three five-setters.

“The plus is that on grass the matches aren’t as long – a five-setter in New York takes a bit more of a toll on your body than here – but Vasek has spent quite a lot of time on the court so far and that can be mentally draining.

“He may also be a little bit fatigued, but then again he’s played so much tennis that he’s going to be comfortable in the conditions and in a good rhythm.

“If he is tired I’ll obviously try to capitalise on that, but I won’t bank on it.”

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