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Andy Murray backs change to Wimbledon wildcard system

Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

Andy Murray has backed changes to way in which Wimbledon wildcards are awarded, saying players with "terrible attitudes" are "not deserving" of places at SW19.

Murray made light work of qualifier Lu Yen-hsun in the opening round of the Aegon Championships at Queen's Club on Tuesday, then backed the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) for scrapping recommendations Wimbledon should only award wildcards to players ranked inside the world's top 250.

Wimbledon organisers the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) will confirm this year's first batch of wildcards on Wednesday, guided by LTA recommendations.

After easing past Lu 6-4 7-5, Murray praised the LTA for removing the top-250 guideline, which he views as arbitrary.

"I think it's good to do that," said Murray of the LTA's shift in stance. "Some guys can have some injury troubles some guys could be ranked inside 250 and have terrible attitudes, and maybe it's not deserving.

"Some players could have fantastic attitudes and are just outside. Some guys play much better on grass than others so may have more of an opportunity to win matches.

"And then also when you have some young guys now, an 18-year-old or 19-year-old that's ranked 280, 300 in the world, that's very good for their age: they'd probably be in the top six or seven in the world in their age if that was the case.

"So I have no problem with it being done on an individual basis rather than having a set criteria."

Murray will continue his Wimbledon preparations with a second-round clash against Fernando Verdasco at Queen's on Thursday, still hungry for success wherever possible.

"This year I want to perform better in more events," Murray said. "You're not going to win every tournament but the more opportunities you have to play in finals and semi-finals against the best players, it's beneficial when you get to major competition.

"I want to do well here because I feel that's the best preparation for Wimbledon."