Murray will be acutely conscious of the threat of his 29-year-old opponent in their second-round confrontation on Wednesday, recalling his defeat to him at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 that provided a crucial impetus in the Scot’s rise to join the world’s elite.
Murray’s defeat to Lu in China was so maddening that it would ultimately strengthen his resolve to achieve gold-medal glory in London.
While Murray might have avenged the Olympic disappointment with a straight-sets victory in Indian Wells this year, in their only other encounter, he recognises Lu as a wily campaigner who reached a Wimbledon quarter-final in 2010 and scotched the prospect of an all-British showdown by defeating James Ward.
Lu, as he proved in his dismantling of Ward, is blessed with no great pace but remains an impressive retriever on grass. Still, the chances of a player now ranked 75th in the world springing an upset against the second seed look remote, given how adept Murray has become at surviving the first week of grand slams. Indeed, five years have elapsed since he last lost in the first round.
