Wimbledon 2010: Andy Murray stands alone after beating Jan Hajek

Andy Murray was enjoying himself almost enough to smile – and with good reason. The sun shone and all the component parts moved with Ferrari-like smoothness again as the last British player standing at these 133rd Wimbledon championships (officially the worst ever for the hosts) dismissed the tennis commoner Jan Hajek with what might be described as a regal flourish. His virtually untroubled 7-5, 6-1, 6-2 win marked Murray's first appearance on Court One in five years. On Thursday the Scot moves back to Centre Court, where he will meet Jarkko Nieminen and you-know-who. The left-handed Finn, who worked hard to get past the 33-year-old Austrian Stefan Koubek in four sets earlier in the day, carries uncomplainingly the long-ago praise of Bjorn Borg that he could "become a great personality". It hasn't totally worked out that way for Nieminen, who says he enjoys badminton and "various types of music" and has laboured dutifully on the circuit, inside the top 100, for nine years. At least he has booked a day to remember. He will, of course, be quizzed to death by Finns on whether or not he intends to bow before Murray, or shock middle England and reduce the British representation here to zero. The latter is unlikely. After a hesitant start, Murray moved with more certainty than he has done since the Australian Open and then found extra beef in his ground strokes as Hajek wilted. The seasoned Czech came to fight and when he broke Murray in the third game, his delicate dink unreachable, Murray's mother, Judy, and girlfriend, Kim, shifted uncomfortably. The Scot soon eased their concerns, his tennis roaring back to life after he broke in the eighth game to level and again when he pinned Hajek relentlessly on the baseline to take the set. Murray then strung together seven games in a row, his power down the lines and in the serve too much for a player 63 places below him in the rankings. He came to the net too, not always with a sure touch but enough to encourage the belief that his attacking instincts are flowing back. The third set was more of the same and Court One, not quite as corporate or celebrity-laden as Centre Court, rose to greet a convincing return to form by a player who has stuttered into the affections of the nation. It remains a mystery why pockets of Planet Tennis set their hard face against him. Jokes about ABM (Anyone but Murray) T-shirts outlive their mirth pretty quickly, although he seems unconcerned. He has had to hone his diplomatic skills, though, as message-carriers of the status quo continue to batter him daily with questions about his undying devotion to a slowly decaying institution. So, what did he make of the state of British tennis, unable to furnish its own tournament with more than one representative two days into the celebrations? "It's not great, is it?" he said. "Everybody working at the LTA will be disappointed as well. A few of the girls had a chance to win, didn't quite take them, and it was only me and Jamie in the boys." And then it was goodbye to his fellow Scot, Jamie Baker. Murray admitted he is not up to speed on the wider picture in British tennis, but it was easy enough to conclude that it was ordinary. Actually, it is dire – even if all but Elena Baltacha among the eight Brits lost to someone above them in the rankings. For Murray, though, life is good. "I was definitely in the right frame of mind for the match," he said. "When I went behind – it wasn't the best start – I felt calm. I found a way to get myself back into the match." In a wholly different context, it was the language used by Roger Federer yesterday when he had a near-disastrous collapse against Alejandro Falla. It is the argot of champions. There is no reason to assume that Murray will not one day join tennis royalty. He reckoned this was not quite the best he has played since reaching the final of the Australian Open, but it is difficult to recall a more assured performance. Most pleasing was his willingness to gamble occasionally, something he has hardly done in six months. At times he has played as if frozen by self-doubt and there were flashes of that yesterday. Overall, though, his confidence looked high and his aggression moved up several levels. He hit 17 aces. "I didn't get to the net too often but when I was there, I felt good. I practised a lot the last five, six days, hitting a lot of volleys. If you pick the right moments to go to the net on grass, you get a lot of pretty easy volleys. They're the ones that you need to make sure you're focused on, so you're able to shorten points. Especially against the best players, you need to be able to do that." Nieminen is far from the best, but Murray knows he is still dangerous. We will see. The Scot is in a winning mood.