Andy Murray targets ‘second week of Wimbledon’ after grass-court form continues in Nottingham opener

Andy Murray set his sights on the second week of Wimbledon after sweeping aside Joris De Loore to reach the second round of the Nottingham Open with a sixth straight win on grass.

The 36-year-old won 6-3 6-4 to progress in 87 minutes and he will face compatriot Jan Choinski or Hugo Grenier next.

The three-time Grand Slam winner is currently ranked No. 44 in the world and is therefore outside of the top 32 seeds for the Wimbledon draw.

However, he will have the chance to gain ranking points ahead of the Grand Slam tournament by competing at Nottingham and Queen’s.

“I want to go as deep as possible here to try to get close to a seed for Wimbledon,” Murray said.

“That’s my goal, so hopefully I can get a bit closer. The courts here are more similar to how Wimbledon plays in the second week so hopefully I can get to the second week of that.”

Murray struck 11 aces, won 75% of his points on serve and saved both break points he faced in a polished performance.

“It was tricky, very blustery conditions. I’m serving well and that helped me out,” he added.

“The main thing is to get as many matches played in different conditions against different types of opponents. He was a really big server but I made it through.”

The former world No. 1 chose to bow out of the French Open in order to focus on his preparation for the grass-court season, which will culminate in his bid to make a strong run at Wimbledon, where he was won two titles.

The world No. 44 struggled on clay this season, suffering early exits in Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome, but he has made a promising start on his favoured surface of grass.

Murray has dropped down to Challenger level to fine-tune his form and won the Surbiton Trophy on Sunday, his first grass-court title in seven years but his second in two months after his victory on the clay of Aix-en-Provence in April.

The Scot’s victory in Surbiton and strong start in Nottingham mean he is now on a six-match winning streak.

Wimbledon takes place from July 3 to July 16 at the All England Club.