2016 Wimbledon preview: Andy Murray needs to avoid slow start that plagued him at French Open

Going into the 2016 French Open, Andy Murray was considered the top competition to Novak Djokovic, the No. 1 seed for the tournament. And in the end, he did manage to last all the way to a finals match against Djokovic, one that he lost, giving the Serb his first-ever title on the clay of Roland Garros.

Djokovic was simply the better man that day, but the fact that Murray spent an extra five hours on the court over the course of the tournament may have played a part in that. Murray got out to a very slow start in the French Open, being pushed by both Radek Stepanek in the first round and Mathias Bourgue in the second round to a full five sets.

Leading up to this year’s third Grand Slam, Wimbledon, Murray said he hoped to get out to a faster start this time around. He’ll be facing fellow Brit Liam Broady in his opening-round matchup on Tuesday.

“My job is to learn from the French Open,” Murray said. “One of the things I could have done better there is start the tournament quicker. Those first few days were tough psychologically and physically.”

To make matters worse, Murray was also pushed hard in the quarterfinals against Richard Gasquet, where he went four sets, and the semifinals against Stan Wawrinka, where he also went four sets. Murray managed to take the first set from Djokovic in the finals, but the Serb quickly came back to win the next three and the title.

“Although I recovered from it, the match against Gasquet again was a match where I was 5-2 up in the first set, 5-2 up in the second and I ended up being on court for an hour and 20 minutes longer than I needed to in that match if I had just closed out those sets a little bit quicker,” Murray said. “So that is something I will obviously try to learn from the French and try and start a little bit quicker.”

Djokovic was pushed to four sets against Roberto Bautista Agut in the fourth round, but other than that match and his finals win over Murray, he won all of his matches in straight sets. Murray was clearly exhausted and frustrated, and even when he was shouting and celebrating his own points it was clear he was trying to tap into an energy reserve that was quickly depleting.

Murray will absolutely need to be at his best to stop Djokovic, who has been on a tear. Djokovic is going for his fifth-consecutive major and his fourth Wimbledon title overall. He’s the defending champion in the tournament, having beaten Roger Federer in the finals last year. Djokovic has finally claimed a title in every major and will have as much confidence as one could possibly have.

For Murray, who is the second seed and can face Djokovic only in the finals, he has to get through these early rounds with as little fatigue as possible. That means getting through the unseeded Broady and everyone who comes after that without playing a grueling five-set war.