Andy Murray has not had a good year, of that there is no doubt.
His build up to his beloved Wimbledon was nothing short of wretched as he was knocked out in the first round at Queen’s and was struggling with a hip niggle right up until the start of the famous grass-court Championships in London.
While it is safe to say that Murray has not had a memorable year (thus far), the same cannot be said for British tennis as a whole.
For the first time in a long time, Murray is not a stand-alone flag bearer at Wimbledon, with the likes of Johanna Konta, Heather Watson, and Aljaz Bedene all taking hold of the Union Jack to help the out of form Murray hold it high and proud.
In fact, for the first time since 1997, Britain can boast four stars in the round of 32, which for some, was cause for celebration, especially with Kyle Edmund still to play as well.
However, Andy Murray was unimpressed with the celebratory mood surrounding the progress of British tennis, feeling the country can and should be doing better.
“It’s obviously good to have more players playing in the Slams and winning matches. You know, that’s a positive thing,” said the world number one.
“I know Heather and Jo won today. I saw Aljaz won, too. Hopefully we can keep going.
“You know, I wouldn’t say, like, this is the target to get like five – I don’t know how many it is, maybe five players into the third round.
“I mean, obviously want to try and do better than that.”
Murray was eager to impress upon the current crop of players that they should be aiming higher and would only celebrate if they could go deep into the second week of tournaments.
“I don’t know what the level is, but, like, aim as high as you can,” he continued.
“Like why not try and get five, six players into the quarterfinals of slams? Why not?
“Like, it’s better to set the goal as high as possible and fall a little bit short than go, Yeah, we’re delighted with five or six players in the second or third round of a Slam.
“You know, I’d rather set the goal at reaching second weeks and quarter-finals and contending for Slams. Yeah, that’s the goal of most players to have great runs in these events.
“It’s not to say that getting to the third round is good, you know, but some of the players, like, Kyle and Heather and Jo, you know, they’re capable of doing more than that. So let’s aim to try and go further. You know, there is not a problem with falling short of high targets.
“But saying, I want to win one round at a Slam, when you’re capable of doing more, I don’t agree with that.”
Murray, who is yet to drop a set in his first two matches, will face Fabio Fognini in the round of 32.