Murray progresses to keep British hopes alive

Murray looked in danger of adding to the misery surrounding British tennis - all five of his compatriots in the main draws made opening-day exits yesterday - when he trailed early on, but the hard-hitting American ran out of steam in the searing heat and the Scot capitalised to secure a 4-6 6-3 6-4 6-2 win in three hours and 12 minutes.

It was the first time Murray and new coach Lendl had teamed up in a grand slam event following the latter’s appointment at the turn of the year.

And Murray admitted the Czech accepted first-round assignments at major events can throw up difficulties.

He said: “He was very happy.

“He understands how you might be feeling at the start of a grand slam, what it’s like to play against someone that you haven’t played against, what it’s like playing in different conditions, how you feel in really warm conditions.

“It’s just good to have someone there that understands all of those things.

“Someone maybe without the experience might walk in and be like: ‘what the hell were you doing in the first set? What were you playing at in the first six or seven games?’