Murray and Djokovic feature as Wimbledon reaches second week

The business end is approaching at SW19, and the prestigious postcode’s annual tennis tournament is in full swing. Reigning men’s champion Andy Murray, massively odds-on at 1/20 to defeat South African Kevin Anderson in round four, insists he can handle the pressure and expectation.

“I enjoy pressure,” Murray said. “I like feeling nervous. I’m not scared of that feeling. I felt like I played my best tennis when I’ve been under pressure.”

His opponent Anderson, who is an 8/1 outsider to win the match, has served up 63 aces in his first three matches, though Murray is one of the best returners at the tournament.

“I don’t change loads,” Murray said of his tactics. “The only thing that’s different is my return, because he’s obviously serving different angles at different heights, so the ball’s bouncing up much higher.”

Both players have faced each other only twice previously. In 2010, Murray beat Anderson in the Australian Open, though sustained a heavy defeat in Montreal a year later.

With the Pimms suitably flowing, top seed Novak Djokovic, also odds-on at 1/10 takes on former Wimbledon semi finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and the Serbian is wary of the threats his French counterpart has.

“I know what threat he can cause on this surface,” Djokovic said of facing Tsonga, who is 11/2 for the win.

“I expect him to serve well. I think that’s his advantage. Obviously the serve in any corner. Coming to the net, he’s a very aggressive player. If he’s on, if he feels good on the certain day, he can beat anybody really.”

Djokovic’s route to the last 16 has been relatively routine so far. He easily disposed of Andrey Golubev in three sets, before beating Czech Radek Stepanek, and then Gilles Simon.

Despite dropping a set against Stepanek, the Serb, a beaten finalist at this grass court Grand Slam last year, is still odds-on at 8/13 for victory in three sets, while odds of a five-set thriller, with Djokovic progressing 3-2 are 13/2.