"Andy Murray knows how to play on grass" - John McEnroe makes bold statement about Brit's Wimbledon run amid participation uncertainty

John McEnroe is backing Andy Murray to make a deep run at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships, should he participate. The Brit was forced to retire due to injury during his second-round match at the Queen’s Club Championships last week, casting doubt on his SW19 campaign.

Murray, who re-entered the world's top 40 for the first time in five years last season, hasn’t been nearly as successful in 2024. He has earned just six wins and 12 losses so far. As it stands, he has bagged a solitary win during the ongoing grasscourt season.

At the BOSS Open in Stuttgart, Andy Murray was beaten by Marcos Giron in the opener. He won the first round of the Queen’s Club Championships against Alexei Popyrin, but retired mid-match against Jordan Thompson in the second round after “losing power” in his leg, following which he underwent spinal surgery due to a spinal cyst diagnosis.

Despite his less-than-ideal run in the lead-up events, three-time Wimbledon champion John McEnroe boldly backed the Brit to reach the second week of the grasscourt Slam, according to inews.

"I could see him getting into the second week," McEnroe said.

Murray has won eight titles on grass, including the London Olympics in 2012 and the Wimbledon Championships in 2013 and 2016.

"This guy knows how to play on any surface but he certainly knows how to play on grass better than almost anyone that’s played," John McEnroe said about the three-time Grand Slam champion.

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John McEnroe on Andy Murray's Wimbledon 2024 chances - "Obviously a fair amount of it is going to depend on the draw"

In 2021, Andy Murray reached the third round of the tournament but has failed to make it past the second round in the last couple of years. He was beaten by John Isner in four sets in 2022 and lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas in a tightly contested five-setter in 2023.

John McEnroe pinned his hopes on the Brit getting a favorable draw in the upcoming edition.

"He’ll use all that experience but obviously a fair amount of it is going to depend on the draw and see who he’s got early on," the fellow former World No. 1 said during the same conversation.

Andy Murray previously stated that he doesn’t plan on playing past the summer, with Wimbledon or the Paris Olympics being the ideal tournament to hang his racquet.

"Maybe he’ll be able to get the right schedule so that he could get the proper rest. But that would be a big ask, but it’d be a hell of a way to go out," McEnroe added about the Brit’s potential final SW19 campaign.

"It would be cool if he got a couple of breaks because he certainly been on the short end of the stick for too long with all the injuries," he added.

The ATP’s official social media page initially revealed that Murray had withdrawn from the 2024 Wimbledon Championships, but the post was later deleted. The veteran’s team and his mother called out the blunder, confirming that any such decision was yet to be made.