Murray rejects age hindrance view

Andy Murray insists the fact he is no longer one of tennis' young guns does not harm his chances of glory at Wimbledon.

The British number one, seeded fourth, has a first-round clash against Nikolay Davydenko on Tuesday as he begins his bid to win his first Grand Slam at SW19 and he is considered an outsider behind reigning champion and top seed Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal (2) and Roger Federer (3). The Scot, though, is upbeat over his chances and says the fact he is now 25 is not a barrier to potential success. He said: "I just play, and I also think tennis has changed a lot. I know a lot about the history of the game and it has completely changed. "When I first made it into the top 10 there was me, Djokovic, Nadal, who were all 18 or 19 years old. Now there are maybe two or three guys under 20 in the top 100. The average age of the top players is much, much older than it used to be because the game has become much more physical." He added: "It has changed a lot so whereas before guys were playing their best tennis when they were younger, I think it is starting to happen now that guys are playing their best when they're older."