In the 16 years since Andy Murray made his debut at Wimbledon, the Scot has experienced almost every emotion imaginable at the All England Club: from devastation and tears when he was beaten in the final by Roger Federer in 2012, to jubilation the following year when he won the title, more elation when he did so again in 2016 and sheer agony in 2017 when his sore hip finally began to give way. The effort of getting to the top of the game, with three grand slam titles, two Olympic gold medals, Davis Cup glory and the No 1 ranking finally took its toll on his body. Hip surgery in 2018 did not do the job he had hoped and when he emerged from a second operation in early 2019 with a metal right hip which sets off the alarms at airport security, it looked like his career was over. But resilience, perhaps the trait that has helped Murray most of all, saw him fight on. His return to the circuit amid all sorts of niggles and injury setbacks has been well documented but should never be forgotten. Just being out here, back on court in singles at Wimbledon, is a near-miracle. If you did not know the backstory, then this first week of Wimbledon might have felt like typical Murray; a mid-match wobble in round one before beating the No 24 seed Nikoloz Basilashvili and then a stirring fightback when he came from two sets to one down to beat the German qualifier Oscar Otte in round two. How he recovers from those two outstanding physical and emotional efforts will be key to his chances on Friday, but of more concern, perhaps, will be the fact that in Denis Shapovalov, a left-hander ranked No 12 and with a big game, he will face a real test of just what he is capable of. Shapovalov, 22, was busy winning the junior title at Wimbledon when Murray beat another Canadian, Milos Raonic, to win his second Wimbledon in 2016. “I remember his win in ’16 for sure,” said Shapovalov, who reached the quarter-finals at the US Open last year. “Obviously I was there in the juniors, and he played Milos in the final. Of course I remember that one. I do recall ’13 sort of, but not as vividly.” While Murray was busy battling it out for almost four hours to get past Otte, the world No 151, Shapovalov had his feet up, the beneficiary of a walkover after the Spanish player Pablo Andújar pulled out with a rib injury. Having skipped the French Open to allow a shoulder problem to ease, he reached the semi-finals at Queen’s Club two weeks ago and has a flowing all-court game that seems well suited to grass. The biggest issue for the 10th seed, then, could be handling the occasion. Usually very popular with fans all around the world, he is sure to be the villain when he gets out on to Centre Court for the first time. How he copes with that, and Murray’s guile and experience, will be key to how the match unfolds. There will probably be nerves but it seems he is looking forward to it. “I think it’s a great moment for me,” he said. “Obviously it’s going to be my first time on Centre Court at Wimbledon so it’s definitely super exciting for me and my team and my career. Definitely a match I grew up wanting to play, against Andy in the spotlight like this. “I watched his match [against Otte] and honestly, just as a tennis fan, it was fun to watch. As a fan of Andy’s, to see him back and moving so well, especially those last two sets, how he turned it around, it felt like he was the player that he was a couple of years back. It was really exciting to see. For sure it’s a difficult one. Obviously he’s got all that experience and he seems to be in really good shape. It’s definitely an exciting match. It’s going to be an exciting moment.” It may well be that Shapovalov proves to be a step too far for Murray at 34, with his resurfaced hip. But the two-time champion has already proved people wrong this week and more than anything, he has been enjoying himself. “One of the reasons why I’m still playing is because of moments like that,” Murray said, after beating Otte. “Why would you want to give that up?”