28/02/2014
Andy Murray faces a huge challenge if he is to win the men's singles at the Championships, Wimbledon for the second year running.
This is the view of Pete Sampras, a man who knows a thing - or seven - about how to triumph at the All England Club.
Speaking to the BBC Sportsweek show, seven-time Wimbledon champion Sampras said: 'When you defend a major it is the most pressure you could feel.
'You feel you are the man to beat - especially for Andy in England.'
However, he added: 'He'll handle it fine, he is a great player and I think great players will figure it out.'
The American commented: 'He is on the way to winning multiple majors - it's hard to really put a number on it - but he is a great player,' but said Murray has now moved from being a 'contender' to being the 'favourite'.
Murray's triumph at SW19 last year was his second grand slam and he will be hoping to better than the first defence of one, when he was thrashed in straight sets in last year's US Open quarter-final by Stanislas Wawrinka.
With Murray having back surgery soon afterwards and Wawrinka breaking the 'big four' dominance by winning his first grand slam in Melbourne in January, that defeat may be put in perspective.
However, Murray may have good reason to consider himself the favourite, having reached the final of his last five grass court tournaments. Apart from winning Wimbledon itself and reaching the 2012 final, he also won the Olympic title there and has triumphed in the last two Aegon Championships at Queens.
Murray will be back at the Aegon Championships this year and has also been announced as a participant in the BNP Paribas Tennis Classic at the Hurlingham Club in London, an exhibition event that will take place from June 17th-20th.
The Scot has yet to win a title this year, but he has just reached the semi-finals of the Mexico Open in Acapulco after beating Frenchman Gilles Simon, while the tournament's top seed David Ferrer has had to withdraw with an injury.
By Keith Prowse
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