No scares as relaxed Murray in a hurry to progress

The Scot was not entirely happy with his game but his serve helped him keep Kamke at arm’s length throughout as he set up a third-round meeting with veteran Ivan Ljubicic.

Murray tries to keep life as normal as possible to help him deal with the pressure of being the home hope at Wimbledon, and on Tuesday night that meant watching the cult classic Scream.

After his 6-3 6-3 7-5 win over Kamke, he said: “You normally pick the one thing that will stop you thinking about tennis.

“Scream did a pretty good job of that. I did hear at the end they have Scream 2 on tonight and Scream 3 on on Thursday. Maybe I’ll watch one of them.”

Having given his fans a scare by dropping the opening set against big-hitting Daniel Gimeno-Traver in the first round, Murray quickly set about ensuring the same did not happen again.

Kamke, 25, only broke into the top 100 last year, earning an award for ATP World Tour Newcomer of the Year, so it was perhaps not surprising he began a little nervously.

Two double faults handed Murray a break in the first game, and he stepped it up to claim another at 5-3 and clinch the set.

Kamke was determined to take the match to the world No 4 but, having seen Murray produce a big serve to save his only break point in the seventh game of the second set, he was then promptly broken himself.

The third set was a very competitive affair, with Kamke trading blow for blow with Murray, but again a double fault proved his undoing, leaving the fourth seed somewhat relieved and grateful for his serve.

Murray said: “I didn’t think I played that well, but I didn’t get broken. I served well, especially when I was behind in games. It was quite windy on the court which made it tricky, and I thought he hit the ball very well from the back of the court.

“I could have returned a little bit better. But it was straight sets, so I’ve got to be pleased with that. But I’ve got to improve for the next match.”

There was a certain degree of surprise that Murray was scheduled on Court One rather than Centre, particularly given the poor weather forecast, but the man himself had no complaints.

“It doesn’t bother me,” he said. “I think all of the players would rather be on Centre because of the roof because you know you’re going to get on, but the court’s still the same.

“It’s a little bit different in terms of how it looks, because now with the roof it feels very enclosed, whereas Court One seems quite open, like Centre Court used to. So that’s slightly different.

“But I don’t mind playing on any court: Centre, Court One, Court Six, I don’t care. I just want to try to win.”

The pressure will always be squarely on Murray’s shoulders at Wimbledon but the 24-year-old at least has a home supporting cast this year.

After being the only British player through to the second round in the singles 12 months ago, Murray was joined by Elena Baltacha, Anne Keothavong and 17-year-old Laura Robson this time. Keothavong bowed out yesterday but Baltacha and Robson remain in the tournament.

Murray said: “Any time any British players win, it’s a good thing. It doesn’t change my mentality or the way I go into my matches. If I’m looking at it in terms of British tennis, it’s great.

“I think that’s Laura’s first win at Wimbledon. She’s struggled a little bit this year with some injuries, so that will be a big win for her, a good confidence boost.

“Elena’s done well the last few years. She’s established herself in the top 100, and she deserves to be here. So it’s good.”

Ljubicic warmed up for his third-round clash with Murray with a straight sets victory over Sergiy Stakhovsky.

Ljubicic prevailed 6-4 6-4 6-2 on Court 7 to equal his previous best performances at Wimbledon, having also reached the third round in 2006 and 2007.

Rafael Nadal made a winning debut under the Centre Court roof as he booked his place in the third round with a 6-3 6-2 6-4 win over Ryan Sweeting. The world No 1, given top billing under the lights, was rarely in trouble against his American opponent short of an inconsistent spell midway through the third set.

Defending the title he won a year ago, he made it 16 straight wins on the Wimbledon grass, often thrilling the crowd – the Duchess of Cornwall among them – with a fine display of aggressive hitting laced with some top-drawer defence.

Nadal will now face Gilles Muller, whose opponent, the up-and-coming Canadian Milos Raonic, was forced to retire after just five games of their contest.

That match, and all others on the outside courts, did not get under way until past 3pm owing to the inclement weather.

The No 10 seed, Mardy Fish, booked a third-round meeting with Juan Ignacio Chela as he saw off Denis Istomin. The American needed two hours and 16 minutes to emerge a 7-6 (8/6) 6-4 6-4 winner against the world No 56, while Chela was equally as efficient as he saw off Alex Bogomolov Jr.

On Court 12, Richard Gasquet was mightily impressive, as he often is in the early stages of tournaments, beating Igor Kunitsyn 6-1 6-4 6-4, while there was a shock on Court 18 as the normally reliable Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka lost in straight sets to Simone Bolelli.

Another surprise, albeit a minor one, saw the big-serving Ivo Karlovic go out to Lukasz Kubot 7-6 (7-2) 6-3 6-3, while Kevin Anderson saw off Illya Marchenko in their first-round clash.

Tearful Watson elbowed out after injury

British teenage tennis talent Heather Watson broke down in tears after admitting her three-set loss to Mathilde Johansson at Wimbledon was the hardest to take of her career.

Watson won the first set on Court Three and broke her opponent’s serve in the second before an elbow injury halted her progress and she eventually lost 2-6 6-4 6-4.

The 19-year-old’s physio spent five minutes taking a look at the injury after the seventh game in the second set and she failed to recover fully, winning just two of her remaining seven service games.

It was a cruel end after a good start to the match from Watson.

It was only her second senior singles match at Wimbledon, and followed her recent first-round win at the French Open – which was a first for a British woman in 17 years.

Watson was full of confidence ahead of yesterday’s clash and felt she could have beaten her opponent, who is ranked 41 places above her in the standings, had she not suffered the injury.

The Channel Islander broke down in tears two minutes into her post-match press conference, saying: “I’ve never felt anything like this before. I really wanted to win and I thought I had the match.

“I’m just asking myself now, ‘Why me?’.

“Why couldn’t it have happened in another tournament? Why this one?

“This was the hardest defeat of my professional career because it was a great opportunity for me.

“I feel like I’ve had some experience now and I’ve won a match in a grand slam so I felt like I had no excuses.

“I know how to play tennis. This is what I prepare for. This is why I play tennis every day, so I should be ready. I feel like I should be winning these matches. That’s why I’m so annoyed.”

Watson’s parents, watching courtside along with veteran coach Nick Bollettieri, were quick to console their daughter as she looked distraught when she walked off court. She was quick not to use the injury as an excuse for her defeat, but admitted it had a big impact on her performance.

“It didn’t help. It was frustrating and I thought I lost my concentration a bit in the match,” the British No 2 said.

“I just felt my elbow go on a serve. It was something in the middle.

“I didn’t want to serve too hard after because I had to be careful.”

After rising from 588th in the rankings in the space of 18 months to her current 106th position, Watson – who briefly broke into the top 100 earlier in the month – has earned a profound optimism which leads her to believe that she will one day be Wimbledon champion.

That optimism means she is determined to bounce back from the injury, which may rule her out of the doubles at SW19.

“I am a fighter. I’m never going to give up,” she added.

“It happens to all players.”

Williams calms the storm to see off veteran

Five-time champion Venus Williams drew on her competitive instincts as she hit back from a set down to beat veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm in a pulsating second-round Wimbledon clash.

While rain fell outside, Williams and Date-Krumm entertained the Duchess of Cornwall and the Centre Court crowd under the closed roof with some breathtaking tennis.

Date-Krumm took the first set on a tie-break but only after Williams had battled from 5-1 down and saved a total of seven set points.

Williams moved a break up early in the second set to draw level in the match before prevailing in a hard-fought third to clinch a 6-7 (6/8) 6-3 8-6 victory in nearly three hours.

The American had only played four matches since January after suffering a hip injury at the Australian Open and was relieved to find a way past the 40-year-old from Japan.

“It was a perfect storm for her to try to get a win. Thankfully I had some answers,” said Williams.

“More than anything I’ve learned (since returning to action at Eastbourne) that I’m very competitive.

“When you play an opponent like that you just have to get into that competitive mode and compete, no matter what happens.”

Date-Krumm was a Wimbledon semi-finalist in 1996 and wishes she had been able to play that match, against Steffi Graf, under a roof.

“In 1996 I played Steffi Graf in two days because of the darkness,” said Date-Krumm.

“I like indoor courts. If we had a roof in the 1990s I would not have had to play Steffi over two days and I’d have had more chance.”

Williams will face Spain’s Maria Jose Sanchez Martinez next after the world No 76 beat Monica Niculescu 6-3 6-0.

Vera Zvonareva, last year’s beaten finalist, overcame Russian compatriot Elena Vesnina 6-1 7-6 (7/5) and she will face Tsvetana Pironkova, who beat Petra Martic 6-1 6-4.

The fourth seed Victoria Azarenka cruised into the third round with a 6-0 6-3 victory over Iveta Benesova and will face either Daniela Hantuchova or New Zealand’s Marina Erakovic.

The rain over Wimbledon had caused havoc with the schedules and while some players reached the third round, other were still in first-round action.

Seeds Agnieszka Radwanska, Julia Goerges, Flavia Pennetta, Dominika Cibulkova and Jarmila Gajdosova all progressed but there was one notable casualty.

The eccentric American Bethanie Mattek-Sands, seeded 30, failed to match her eye-catching outfit, falling to Japan’s Misaki Doi 6-4 5-7 7-5.

Keothavong outclassed by impressive Kvitova

Anne Keothavong could only win three games as she crashed out of Wimbledon at the hands of Czech eighth seed Petra Kvitova.

British No 3 Keothavong was outclassed by her opponent, who dominated with a series of powerful groundstrokes.

Kvitova, who reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon last year, broke the Londoner’s serve on three occasions in the first set before coasting to victory.

Her 6-2 6-1 success set up a third-round clash with 29th seed Roberta Vinci.

Keothavong suffered a straight-sets defeat to Kvitova in her opponent’s homeland earlier this year and her win over 20-year-old compatriot Naomi Broady on Tuesday was hardly a stellar performance.

For that reason, Keothavong knew she would have to get off to a good start, but she failed, losing the first game after Kvitova broke with an easy forehand following a poor drop shot from the Briton.

Keothavong, 27, created a chance to break back in the second game but she went long with a cross-court backhand before Kvitova raced away.

The smattering of home fans on Court One tried to lift Keothavong’s spirits, but she failed to improve, losing her first service game in the second to give away an immediate advantage.

The second set then went with serve until the fifth game when Kvitova smashed home to break the home player once more.

A sliced drop shot at the net gave the 21-year-old a 5-1 lead, leaving Keothavong needing to hold her serve to delay what was now clearly an inevitable defeat.

The Briton had game point but a wasteful volley took the game to deuce. Kvitova was gifted a match point by a double fault, and she sealed a one-sided victory.