A legend in his own right, former world number 1 Andy Murray has been the sole flag bearer of British tennis for a long time. And how befitting is the fact that the grand slam he has been the most successful in, is Wimbledon – the pinnacle of British tennis culture. The 36-year-old still remains the last player to beat 4-time defending champion Novak Djokovic on the Centre Court of Wimbledon, way back in the finals of 2013.

It goes without saying that the 2-time champion at the All England Club attracts a ton of attention and viewership whenever he steps onto the Centre Court. However, Murray has recently expressed reluctance in playing the prime-time late shift at SW19 this year.

Andy Murray admits he’s not keen on playing late shift at Wimbledon

Before the order of play was unveiled for his first-round encounter this year at Wimbledon, the 3-time grand slam revealed that he isn’t much keen on playing in the evening shift this time and would prefer an earlier slot, as reported by Tennis365.

He expressed he would rather love to spend time with his children before they go to bed at night. ?Usually I get given the late shift so hopefully this year they will put me on a little bit earlier. The way the scheduling is done now, all the late matches are ending up being played under the roof… I would love to play slightly earlier in the day if at all possible so I get to see the kids in the evening because usually I am finishing at 9-9.30 pm. With the later starts and the big breaks between the matches it?s later finishes a lot of the time.?, he said.

All of Murray’s matches from the last 2 editions of Wimbledon were scheduled on the evening prime-time slot of BBC, which guarantees huge viewership figures. Of course, home favorite Murray is bound to attract a huge number of spectators, more so if he plays on the plum spot for television viewing. Apart from his dad duties, Murray also hinted at another reason for his reluctance to play at a later time slot – the disruption caused due to the closing of the roof at Wimbledon.?

Closing of roofs also a factor for avoiding the evening slot

Keeping aside his responsibilities as a doting father, Andy Murray had another legitimate reason for wanting his match to be scheduled in the afternoon. As is often the case, the later slot involves a possible distraction in the match in case the roof is required to be closed. Due to the unpredictable weather in Wimbledon, the retractable roofs on the show-courts at SW19 come in handy.

However, the playing conditions change drastically as the roof closes, with the court often becoming more slippery than usual. Murray himself had to finish many of his matches in the past under the roof and lights late into the night, which adversely affected his sleep schedule.

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Therefore, his request seems all the more valid. But one thing is certain, no matter when he plays, all his fans will be rooting for the Briton to have a long run at Wimbledon this year. Although Murray may no longer be the player he was prior to his career-altering hip surgery, it is clear that he still is one of the major attractions of any tournament he plays in – especially Wimbledon. And all of Britain will be eager to see whether he can repeat the heroics from his 2013 and 2016 Wimbledon campaigns.

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