Andy Murray Made to Work Hard As He Begins Wimbledon Title Pursuit

Roger Federer used to loath first-round matches, losing three of his first four Wimbledon appearances at the earliest stage including in 2002, the year before he won the first of his five titles. Andy Murray has never had this problem at the All England club, his earliest exit being in the third round on his debut four years ago, although with the pressure at its most intense this year, Murray being seeded second behind Federer, he was undoubtedly mightily relieved to see off Robert Kendrick yesterday evening, beating the American 7-5, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4.

"It was a tough match. He served great and made it very difficult," said Murray. "He was very aggressive and he does not give you a whole lot of rhythm. I didn't return as well as I would have liked, though I served OK. There were a lot of big points and it's good to have them early in the tournament."

Kendrick had only ever won one previous match in the Championships in three visits. Indeed the one match that he is remembered for was one he lost in 2006, when he led Rafael Nadal by two sets in the second round. Nadal, unable to defend his title this year because of knee problems, went on to reach the first of his three successive finals that year having finally managed to figure out a way of returning the American's serve.

Kendrick knew he needed another phenomenal bout of serving if he was to stand any chance of defeating Murray, having lost all his previous three matches against him.

He served well, sometimes exceptionally well, and his forehand was also frequently a potent weapon, but Murray has not become the third best player in the world by chance. He gradually wore Kendrick down, forcing him to play one shot too many.

Allied to his huge natural talent, something that has never been in doubt, Murray has embraced a work ethic off the court that has transformed him physically, and made him believe he can now win one of the world's four major titles.

Kendrick's game, for all his lack of success at grand slam level, is ideally suited to grass, although when he was broken in the opening game, hitting a forehand long and then double faulting, it appeared that Murray might not be in for a particularly testing afternoon. The Californian, 29 years old, had previously won only three games at this level, and he had not won a match on grass in the build-up tournaments at Queen's and Eastbourne.

By comparison Murray had taken the title at the AEGON Championships in London, the first British man to win the title since Bunny Austin in 1938. At Queen's his serve was only broken twice in five matches; in only the eighth game of this match against the American he dropped it with a double fault, Kendrick leveling at 4-4.

By then Murray's opponent was mixing his own serve up beautifully, and from time to time striking his forehand with an intensity that Murray could not match. However as much as Murray's serve has improved, and it is now a particularly potent weapon on grass, it is his return game that is his huge strength. He has wonderful hands, and can counter-attack on both the forehand and backhand. Some of his backhands in particular had Kendrick gently shaking his head, or tapping his racket in admiration.

Murray took the first set and, with the sun dipping, the Center Court eased back in their seats. Murray, now far less likely to expend unnecessary emotional energy, was calmness personified at this stage, though when Kendrick took the second set tie-break, running around a second serve to crash a forehand beyond Murray's reach, there was an outbreak of nervous fidgeting and wan smiles in the crowd.

There was always huge tension whenever Tim Henman was playing on Center Court, no matter what the state of the match, the crowds reveling in the roller coaster, white-knuckle ride. Their faith in Murray, or so it seemed, was already greater, and he duly responded by taking the third set, Kendrick being perhaps unduly rattled by a foot fault that led to him losing his serve to go 4-2 down in the third set.

The American endeared himself to the crowd with several plunging, diving volleys that brought back memories of Boris Becker or, for the older ones, Chuck McKinley. He played at the top of his game; Murray did what he had to do, though he would have taken a deep breath in the locker room, pleased that it was over. Tomorrow Murray will face the hugely talented Latvian world No74 Ernests Gulbis.