Murray wins at Wimbledon but other Brits bow out

In stark contrast to Roger Federer's opening day dramas Andy Murray made short work of his first round opponent at Wimbledon yesterday to book his place in the second round of the tournament.

He brushed aside the Czech Republic's Jan Hajek 7-5, 6-1, 6-2 in one hour and 40 minutes. He is now due to play in front of the Queen when she visits on Thursday. His opponent on Centre Court will be either Jarkko Nieminen or Stefan Koubek.

But Murray's success was offset by the failure of any of his compatriots to make it into the second round of either the men's or the women's singles. It is the first time in history that only one British player has survived the opening round.

Murray was one of only two British men in the draw. The other was fellow Scot Jamie Baker - meaning it was the first time there were no Englishmen in the competition. But by the time Murray took to the grass Baker was already out, having been beaten by German Andreas Beck.

While Baker's loss was unsurprising, Beck is ranked almost 200 places above him, the performance of the British contingent in the ladies' draw was a shock. In total there were six women in the competition and every single one of them, including world 52 Elena Baltacha, who lost to Croatian Petra Martic who is ranked 76th, bowed out in round one.

After the departures of Baltacha, Laura Robson, Katie O'Brien and Melanie South on Monday, Anne Keovathang and Heather Watson lost on Tuesday.

While the Lawn Tennis Association tried to quell concerns, Murray was moved to comment: "At the top level in the last 10 years, the LTA hasn't really produced too many top players - and that's something that isn't good enough and that is what everyone sees. That's what the media sees when it comes to Wimbledon and that gets people talking." ·