Top man Murray left to fly flag alone yet again

Murray was left flying the flag solo for Britain last night as the country crashed to its worst start at SW19.

For the first time in 124 contests at the All England Club, the host nation is left with just one player to support in the second round.

Anne Keothavong, Jamie Baker and Heather Watson all slumped to defeat to ensure it was not just the weather that made fans hot under the collar.

Keothavong surrendered a 4-0 lead in the final set against Anastasia Rodionova before stumbling out, while Baker suffered a first-round defeat by Andreas Beck 7-6 6-3 6-4.

Watson, an 18-year-old wild card who is world No 249, lost 6-4 1-6 6-3 on her senior grand slam debut to Italian qualifier, Romina Sarina Oprandi.

But British No 1 Murray restored the home fans' spirits after recovering from a shaky start to defeat his Czech opponent 7-5 6-1 6-2 on Court One and set up a clash with Finland's Jarkko Nieminen.

Murray expects that to be scheduled as the opening match on Centre Court, meaning a date with royalty for the 23-year-old.

The Scot, though, is confident he will not let the occasion get to him as the monarch visits the All England Club for the first time since 1977.

He said: "I hope it doesn't affect me in the match.

"I think it's one of those things that when you get out there you're aware of it, but then it is our job to be able to concentrate and to focus, not let things that are going on off the court distract you.

"I've been doing it for the last five, six years, getting used to playing in big stadiums with people watching and various distractions. You just need to stay focused."

Murray named David Beckham as the most famous person he has met so far, but that is set to change tomorrow with the world No 4 expected to have the opportunity to meet the Queen after the match.

"I don't know what I'll say exactly," he said.

"I'll probably be a little bit nervous, understandably. I guess I don't really want to mess up at all."

And, contrary to a few headlines over the weekend, Murray will definitely bow, along with Nieminen.

He said: "The plan was to bow to the Queen, as everybody would. What I was trying to say, which I think was unfairly reported, was I wanted to make sure what the etiquette was before we went out on the court."

A run of poor form since Murray's defeat by Roger Federer in the Australian Open final in January meant nothing could be taken for granted against Hajek, despite the Czech's lowly ranking.

And it was the world No 90 who made the better start, breaking Murray's serve in the third game. But from the moment the fourth seed broke back in game eight there was only one winner.

Another break gave Murray the set and he lost only three more games in the final two sets, looking confident off the ground and particularly on his serve.

The 23-year-old said of his performance: "It was good. The start of the match was tricky. I haven't seen him play that much.

"He started very well but once I got back into the first set I did start to feel a lot more comfortable. I served well and didn't give him many chances."

The match was the first Murray had played outisde of Centre Court since his debut year in 2005, and he admitted he was surprised to be scheduled on Court One.

He added: "I wasn't that bothered which court I played on. I was probably due not to play on Centre Court. It was actually nice in a way. But it was a little bit of a surprise because I hadn't played on any other court for the last few years."

Keothavong denied British players are haunted by suspect temperaments after joining the home exodus from Wimbledon.

A day after the nation's No 1 Elena Baltacha surrendered a winning position against a weaker player, Keothavong also hit the panic button when the finishing line was sight.

"Nerves just got the better of me," said the world No 155 and British No 3.

"She held her nerve better than I did so she was the one who walked off court with a win. I don't think British players have a temperament problem at all.

"There's so much pressure on all of us here. For all of us there's nothing more we'd love to do than play good tennis and win here.

"I know I was in a winning position and I didn't close it out. No-one is to blame apart from myself."

Baker, whose previous three Wimbledon appearances also ended at the first-round stage, said: "In a match like that, although it was straight sets, it was literally a couple of points in each set that gave him the match – that's the difference."

A disappointed Watson added: "I wasn't able to serve at my best today. I think I need to get fitter for these matches.

"I'm disappointed that I lost but I've learned a lot. My opponent played well.

"It was a lot of fun playing in my first grand slam, my first Wimbledon and the crowd was awesome."