Wimbledon 2017: Andy Murray explains why a lot of tennis fans will not enjoy watching him

The world No 1 clarified his comments about Johanna Konta's success at the tournament

Andy Murray has won seven of his eight previous meetings with Sam Querrey (Getty)

When Andy Murray played Fabio Fognini (5ft 10in, 11st 9lb) last week the Scot might have wondered whether his wife, Kim, had felt a hint of sympathy for his opponent. On Wednesday, however, there should be no question of divided loyalties when the world No 1 takes on Sam Querrey (6ft 6in, 15st).

“She likes watching players who are small and aren’t as strong,” Murray said. “She likes watching Gilles Simon, she likes watching Dominika Cibulkova and players like that. Everyone likes different things, so it’s good to have players to choose from.”

Murray, who will be playing in his tenth consecutive Wimbledon quarter-final, was expanding on his assertion on Monday evening that Johnna Konta’s success was good for British tennis because “a lot of people who follow tennis in this country won’t enjoy watching me”.

Explaining what he had meant, Murray said: “Not everyone who watches tennis loves watching [Roger] Federer. He’s got a massive amount of fans, obviously, but some people prefer watching Rafa [Nadal].

“When it comes to watching me there will be people in this country who don’t like watching me, who don’t like my personality or who don’t enjoy my style of play, whatever it is.

“That’s why I think it’s important for the sport and healthier for the sport if there are three or four players - men, women, left- handers, right-handers, tall players. It makes it more fun because everyone likes different things. Like my wife, for example. She likes watching players who are really small.”

Judy Murray has also made known her liking for certain players in the past – including “Deliciano” Lopez – but the world No 1 said his mother had been careful to check certain parts of her recently published book with him.

“I haven’t read it but I have seen little bits and pieces because she let me know about all of the stuff that was in there that mentioned me or was about me,” Murray said.

“She wanted to run some of that stuff by me before it was published. I didn’t have to put a red line through any of it. There were a few things we chatted about, because sometimes little things like wording is important.

“I haven’t read it yet so I don’t know what the finished article is like, but it’s good that she’s telling her side of the story because not everyone is aware of what parents have to do to give their kids the best chance to make it in what they want to do.

“Obviously, if you go through school in a more conventional pathway it’s a bit easier, but when you have two kids into tennis, who want to go and train abroad and everything, it’s not easy and it costs a lot of money. My mum and dad made lots of sacrifices for both of us and obviously we couldn’t have done what we are doing without them.”

Did Murray think that the success he and his brother Jamie have enjoyed was a way of repaying their parents for their sacrifices? “My mum and dad are obviously really happy that me and Jamie have done really well for ourselves at tennis, but they would have been just as happy if we had chosen another route,” Murray said.

“As a parent you just want your kids to be happy. That’s the most important thing. If I made the quarter finals of Wimbledon but I was unhappy then my mum and dad would rather I lost in the first round and enjoyed my life. Being happy is ultimately the most important thing. I love tennis and I want to do well, but I know they just want me and Jamie to be happy.”

Murray has won seven of his eight previous meetings with Querrey. Two were on grass – in the fourth round here seven years ago and at Newport, Rhode Island in 2006 – but the surface is by no means alien to the 29-year-old American. Querrey, whose big game matches his imposing frame, is a former champion at Queen’s Club and beat Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon last year.

“He has a tough style to play against,” Murray said. “He serves big, he goes for his shots and he’s not an easy guy to come up against. He’s had some great results here in the past. He had a big win against Novak here last year and he’s beaten [Jo-Wilfried] Tsonga here too. He’s a great grass-court player, but I’ve had good success against him in the past and hopefully I’ll take that into the match with him on Wednesday.”

If I made the quarter finals of Wimbledon but I was unhappy then my mum and dad would rather I lost in the first round and enjoyed my life.

Andy Murray

Although Murray’s Wimbledon preparations were hampered by a sore hip, the Scot agreed that he was in a happier frame of mind here than he had been going into the French Open, when he was out of form and feeling under the weather because of a bout of flu.

“I’m probably a little bit more comfortable on a grass court than I am on the clay, but I was struggling going into the French Open,” Murray admitted.

“There were a lot of doubts about my game and I had really struggled for quite a few months. The French Open ended up being really important for me. I hadn’t played well at all in Madrid and in Rome and I was practising really badly.

“I knew coming in here that I was actually hitting the ball pretty well. I was just struggling a lot with my movement and, as I have said, that’s a huge part of my game. If that’s not going well it’s going to affect me a lot.

“But I’m always a little bit calmer going into Wimbledon just because I love the conditions and I love playing on that court.”

Querrey, who said that Wimbledon was his favourite tournament of the year, knows the size of the challenge he is facing. “It’s going to be tough,” the world No 28 said. “He’s playing at a high level. He’s defending champion, No 1 in the world.”

The American said he had not learned much from his past meetings with Murray. “He makes a ton of balls. He plays great defence. Who doesn’t know that? You have to try to beat him playing my game. I know what’s coming on the other side. Hopefully I can make that extra ball or close out a little harder at the net, try not to let him dictate with his defence.”

Querrey's big game matches his imposing frame (Getty)

Querrey added: “He loves playing here. The crowd is going to be behind him. But sometimes it’s fun to go out there and play where the crowd is behind the other player 100 per cent. I’m going to try to play aggressive, hopefully play well and sneak out a win.”

Asked how he would explain to someone in his own country about the scrutiny Murray faces here, Querrey said: “It’s like nothing that we have in the States. I'm sure a couple of the football players are massive names, too, but he is arguably the biggest athlete over here. In the US we have 10 athletes that you would argue are on the same level.

“The entire country seems like they watch Wimbledon. In the US, whether it’s football, baseball, basketball, tennis, a lot of people watch, but it’s not 100 per cent of America that watches even the Super Bowl. It feels like everyone watches Wimbledon here with Andy Murray.”