Andy Murray Cruises Into Wimbledon Second Round

Murray Makes Short Work Of Becker
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Andy Murray cruised into the second round on his quest for the Wimbledon title as his rival Rafael Nadal made a shock exit from the grand slam.

Murray eased to victory in less than two hours on the opening dayin front of an army of fans who queued for up to two days for a chance to watch the British No 1 in action.

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Andy Murray said he wasn't worried about the pressure for success at Wimbledon

His 6-4 6-3 6-2 win during a clash with Germany's Benjamin Becker on centre court came as Nadal lost out in straight sets to unseeded Belgian player, Steve Darcis.

Murray, 26, was supported by his girlfriend Kim Sears and mother Judy as he stormed to victory, cheered on by thousands of fans - both in court and up on "Murray Mount".

Among those gathered in the Royal Box to watch play today were the Duchess of Cambridge's sister Pippa Middleton and brother, James, who chatted animatedly between points.

Miss Middleton, wearing a pale blue Sandro dress and blue blazer and dark glasses, was seen smiling broadly as defending champion Roger Federer emerged victorious from his own first-round clash against Romanian Victor Hanescu - the first of the day on Centre Court.

She was joined in the Royal Box by Prince and Princess Michael of Kent; former US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice; actress Felicity Kendal; and athlete Denise Lewis.

Murray's triumph this afternoon, after one hour and 52 minutes of play, came after he vowed to do his utmost for his fans.

In a message on Twitter he wrote: "I'll give everything I have on the court starting with round 1".

His win followed a tough day at Wimbledon for British players which saw debutant Kyle Edmund, Johanna Konta, Elena Baltacha and Samantha Murray bow out of the Championships.

A win would make the Scot the first British man to lift the trophy since Fred Perry in 1936.

Murray, who arguably faces more pressure than ever before in the wake of his Olympic victory, said he was now able to deal with this burden following the match.

"I put a lot of pressure on myself," he said.

"I expect a lot of myself. So the other stuff that kind of goes with it, I mean, it doesn't really matter. It matters what's going on in my head, what I'm feeling while I'm on the court. And I think I've done a good job of putting that other stuff to the back of my head and just concentrate on what's going on out there."

He added: "That's going to be there for the rest of my career, something that all players at the top of the game have to deal with."