ANDY Murray said last night that he feels added responsibility to put a smile back on the face of the British public in the wake of terror attacks in London, Manchester and the Grenfell Tower fire.

While it would be crass to draw any direct correlation between one man’s bid to win a third Wimbledon title and the numerous personal tragedies experienced in variety of horrific incidents in the last few months, the 30-year-old – famously a school pupil the day of the Dunblane massacre – has always been aware that his achievements do not occur in a vacuum and hopes that in some small way another long run at SW19 could lighten the national mood.

While he is the type of man who raises large sums for charity every year without shouting about it – his Andy Murray Live event will raise hundreds of thousands of pounds for Unicef at the SSE Hydro – Murray even apologised for the fact his shock early exit at Queen’s Club meant he was unable to raise more cash for the Grenfell victims’ fund.

“I want to do well,” said Murray. “It’s a big big event in the British sporting calendar. A lot of people watch it, support it, come out, buy tickets and everything. The Queen’s defeat would have been disappointing for a number of people and I’m sorry about that.

“So I’m hoping that come Wimbledon, I can turn it around, play some good tennis and hopefully have a great run again and make it an interesting summer.”

Murray used the example of the 2012 Olympics, and mingling with the crowds watching his wife Kim run the London marathon, as how sport could bring communities together.

“It was amazing,” said the Scot. “I’ve been lucky to be at a few Olympics. But in London it was amazing. The only time when I’ve seen the city like that, when I’ve just been out and about, was when I went to watch the London Marathon when my wife was running in it.

“People do come out and support each other,” he added. “We are strong. It’s a strong, strong community. You don’t see it all of the time. But in special circumstances, with everything that’s happened, you’ve seen it. You’ve seen a lot of the communities come together and be very supportive.

“There are a lot of people very angry, as well. But a lot of people coming together. You can see it through sports, like the Olympics or the Marathon or things like that. It’s great when everyone gets together.”

While he has always been more sensitive to external events than many sportsmen, Murray’s instinctive emotional reaction to the recent outrages has only been heightened since becoming a father to Sophia, some 16 months old. And if nothing else, the fact that innocent children can be explicitly targeted at an Ariana Grande concert reinforces the privilege he feels to play in front of sell-out crowds at the All England Club this week.

“I’m more aware of stuff that relates to children, definitely,” said the Scot. “At any stage, if you see a sick child, you feel really bad. But now I feel more emotional about it because you know that can happen to anyone. When you have a young kid as well, it changes the way you view it a little bit. I’m maybe a bit more emotional towards that kind of stuff now.

“People come to watch and want to be entertained and have a day out and enjoy themselves. It’s great that people are still going out to do those sort of things. When I’m out on the court, you’re in your own little bubble. But when you are removed from it, or when you take a step back and think about it, it’s amazing that you get to go and play on those courts in front of 10,000 people, 15,000 people.”

A crowd of that order will be crammed into Centre Court on Monday to see the Scot, sore hip or not, beginning his defence of his title against Alexander Bublik, the World No 134 from Russia.

“I’ve felt pretty similar most times when I have gone out there,” said Murray. “It’s a special place to play. It’s a great court at one of the biggest tournaments, if not the biggest tournament for me in the year.”