Andy Murray sets sights on world No1 spot and double Olympic gold in Rio after Wimbledon triumph
Wimbledon champion Andy Murray is refusing to rest on his laurels and has set his sights on challenging Novak Djokovic for the world No1 spot as well as winning two gold medals at the Rio Olympics.
The Scot is determined to soak up his second triumph at the All England Club, which may mean that he opts out of playing in Great Britain’s Davis Cup tie in Serbia later this week.
But Murray is already focused on a frenetic August that will see him defend his Olympic singles title in Brazil before heading to New York for a tilt at a second US Open victory.
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A fourth grand slam triumph would still not be enough to overtake Djokovic at the top of the rankings, such is the stockpile of points he has amassed in a year and a half of extraordinary success.
Until his shock third-round loss to Sam Querrey at Wimbledon, the Serb had only failed to reach the final in two of his last 25 tournaments, winning 17 of them.
Murray acknowledges the difficulty of overhauling Djokovic, who has won 17 of their last 20 meetings, but is determined to try to chip away at one of the greatest players in tennis history.
“It’s possible. I’d rather set the bar as high as possible and not quite achieve it. It’s better to try to finish No1 in the world and finish at No2,” he said on Monday.
“I’d love to get to No1, obviously, but I think a lot of people are forgetting what Novak’s done because he lost in the third round here.
“The last 18 months he has been unbelievable, he has hardly lost any matches at all, so I know that if I want to get there I’m going to have to try to win more matches against him. I’d imagine he’ll come back very strong from the loss here.”
Hungrier than ever
Murray, 29, admits that he struggled to build on his 2013 Wimbledon win due to injuries and motivation problems but, reunited with coach Ivan Lendl, he insists he is hungrier than ever for success.
“I don’t see that being an issue this time,” he added. “I’m obviously happy to win again but there is a reason I wanted Ivan back as part of my team. I feel very, very motivated and having won here again it gives me a big lift.
"Hopefully through to the end of this year and beyond I can win some more slams. I’ll give it my best shot to do that.”
Double gold the target in Rio
Next in his sights is gold in Rio, where he intends not only to defend his singles crown but to reprise his Davis Cup-winning partnership with brother Jamie in the men’s doubles.
“I’m pumped for Rio,” he said. “It will be quite different to the Olympics when it was held here [in London] but I’ve loved being involved in the two Olympics that I’ve been at. Rio is obviously a big goal of mine and hopefully I can perform well there.”
World No2 Murray’s second Wimbledon title, earned with a straight-sets win over Canada’s Milos Raonic on Sunday, reduced Djokovic’s lead in the rankings from 8,035 points to 4,845 points.