WIMBLEDON is only two days old and Andy Murray is already in a familiar position – single-handedly flying the flag for British men's tennis.
Only Murray and fellow Scot Elena Baltacha have reached the second round at the All England Club.
Nine other British players have fallen at the first hurdle – including British women's No.1 Anne Keothavong and Murray's long-time closest domestic r
ival Alex Bogdanovic, now without a win in eight visits to SW19.
They are depressing stats but Murray remains a ray of hope – not that he's thinking about his role as standard-bearer.
"It's not great, it's disappointing and the strength in depth needs to get way better," he said.
"It's not acceptable but its unfair to pick on particular players because I watched some of them and they played well.
"The problem is they don't play at this level too often because of their rankings, so when tight moments come, they aren't used to it.
"But I'm not worrying what those guys are doing. I'm only concerned with my own tennis.
"Regardless of how many Brits are in the tournament I just need to take care of my own business. When you get distracted from that is when you lose.
"I need to put hundred per cent focus on myself if I'm going to get through the next two weeks."
Murray was made to fight before advancing through his first Wimbledon examination against American Robbie Kendrick, with a 'must do better' verdict.
And the relief was palpable on a day when British players checked in and checked out of the All England Club in double-quick time.
He claims the pressure of national expectation – which will only ratchet up with every round – will not faze him but this was an uncharacteristically nervy performance.
However, it's one few will ever remember if he achieves his potential and delivers on his promise a week on Sunday.
Latvian Ernests Gulbis now awaits in the second round tomorrow following his 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 win over Ricardo Ghedin.
Murray has won both their previous encounters, most recently on grass at Queen's last year. He should have nothing to fear but Gulbis has a reputation for causing upsets.
"I know I'm going to have to play better," Murray admitted.
"I've got to win another six matches and they are going to get tougher with every round. I'm not worrying or thinking about the final yet. I need to focus on the next match because Gulbis is a very difficult opponent.
"He's caused some upsets in the past and hits the ball huge, so I will need to be on my game to beat him."
Kendrick, who Murray had beaten in three previous meetings, put up a spirited fight but the world No.76 finally ran out of ideas as the third seed secured his progress 7-5, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4 in two hours and 38 minutes.
"It was a tough match. He served great for three sets and made it very difficult for me," said Murray.
"I didn't return as well as I would have liked but I was happy with how I served. The longer the match went on the better I began to feel. It's good to have a test like that early in the tournament and I needed to play well."
Murray didn't take long to reacquaint himself with the rarefied atmosphere of Centre Court while Kendrick initially seemed in awe of his iconic surroundings.
The British No.1 broke early to establish control but then allowed his opponent back into the match as his concentration inexplicably slipped.
He took the first set after 39 minutes but it was far from convincing and Kendrick – his early match nerves finally settled – started to exploit Murray's apparent tentativeness.
The second set remained close but Murray, one of the best returners in tennis, suddenly developed problems reading Kendrick's serve. And when he was edged out in a second set tie-break, a wave of anxiety crashed around Centre Court.
But Murray's serve was fully functioning again in the third and fourth sets, a critical statistic that made the crucial difference.
It's little surprise that a succession of pundits are backing his campaign, although former champion Pat Cash – a rent-a-quote commentator who often engages mouth before brain – dismissed him as 'boring with a monotonous voice' yesterday.
"I don't really care what he says," added Murray.
"I agree that my voice is not particularly interesting but I don't need it to be. I let my tennis do the talking and I think my tennis is exciting."
