Andy Murray was given little cause for concern as he negotiated the first round at Wimbledon, although his performance was far from perfect and suffered in comparison to that of Roger Federer, who appeared before Murray on Centre Court and spent only an hour seeing off his opponent.
After watching Federer dispose of Bosnian Damir Dzumhur in an hour, Murray overcame Kazakh Mikhail Kukushkin 6-4, 7-6, 6-4 in a little over two hours on a day when the courtside temperature reached 40C.
Murray should be "concerned, but not to the point of despair, after a skittish opening to his Wimbledon campaign", says Kevin Mitchell in The Guardian. The main concern was a second set dip "as his serve disintegrated for no apparent reason".
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But the result was the most important thing. "Coming onto Centre Court after a typically shimmering performance from Roger Federer... Murray had to scurry and dash like a demented chipmunk to keep up with the venomous ball-striking of Mikhail Kukushkin," says Simon Briggs in the Daily Telegraph.
"Where Federer stayed as dry as a deodorant advert – even as the mercury climbed well above 40 degrees in the sun – Murray's T-shirt was soon turning translucent at the back. Yet champions express their qualities in different ways, and surely there is merit in being able to eke out results with a cheese knife."
Murray, for once, has British company in the second round, with four men progressing for the first time since 2006. Liam Broady booked his place in the second round on Monday and he was followed by Aljaz Bedene and James Ward.
Slovenian-born Bedene, playing his first Grand Slam since becoming British earlier this year, beat veteran Radek Stepanek in five sets, while James Ward prospered from the withdrawal of David Ferrer, by beating his replacement in the draw, Luca Vanni.
Heather Watson also made the second round, saving three match points as she beat the French seed Caroline Garcia 8-6 in the final set. Laura Robson was not as lucky and crashed out in her first Grand Slam match for over a year.
