Andy Murray: "The best thing you can say about tennis players is they reached their potential, I totally believe Marion Bartoli did that"

Andy Murray has expressed his admiration for Marion Bartoli and her unique approach to tennis throughout her exceptional career.

Murray made a strong start to his campaign for his third Wimbledon title, securing a commanding 6-3, 6-0, 6-1 win over fellow Brit Ryan Peniston. The three-time Grand Slam champion was clinical in his performance, winning all 17 of his net points and coverting six break points to advance to the second round.

During his post-match press conference, Murray was asked to comment on his fellow 2013 Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli. Bartoli defeated Sabine Lisicki 6-1, 6-4 in the final to claim her maiden title at the grass court Major.

Murray spoke fondly of the Frenchwoman before mentioning the attention she garnered due to her unorthodox training and practice routines.

"I always got on really well with her. She was always unbelievably nice, really nice person. I hope she wouldn't mind me saying this, but a lot of people looked at the way she trained, the way she practiced and stuff, found it quite strange because it was very different, it was very unorthodox to a lot of players out there," Andy Murray said.

The Brit emphasized that the true measure of a tennis player's success is found in reaching their full potential, firmly expressing his belief that Bartoli accomplished that feat over the course of her career.

"She was always putting like hundred percent effort into everything she was doing. My opinion on all tennis players is that the best thing you can say about them is they reached their potential. I totally believe that she did that," he added.

Andy Murray reiterated his admiration for the 38-year-old's career and acknowledged her amazing run to the Wimbledon title in 2013.

"Yeah, what an amazing run she had here. Very, very different way of approaching the game. I've not seen some of the stuff that I saw her doing like in the gym or the practice court, I've not seen many other players doing that sort of work. Yeah. It worked for her. She had a brilliant career," he said.

Andy Murray awaits Dominic Thiem or Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round at Wimbledon 2023

Andy Murray advances to the second round at Wimbledon 2023

With his win over Ryan Peniston, Andy Murray improved to a 61-12 win/loss record at Wimbledon, holding an enviable 83% winning record at the All England Club after having win the title in 2013 and 2016.

The former World No. 1 will be up against the winner of the match between Stefanos Tsitsipas and Dominic Thiem in the second round. During their first round encounter, Thiem claimed the first set 6-3 before play was suspended due to rain. The match currently stands at 4-3 in the second set, with Tsitsipas in the lead.

Andy Murray has a 1-1 head-to-head record against Tsitsipas, having defeated the World No. 5 on grass in their most recent encounter at the 2022 Stuttgart Open. Meanwhile, he leads 3-2 in his head-to-head against Thiem.