Scot Murray on his way at Wimbledon after wobble

However, he recovered to take next three sets 6-3, 6-0, 6-0 for a resounding victory. It was only the second time Murray had played the Spaniard, who is ranked 56 in the world.

The match was played with the retractable roof closed after heavy downpours suspended play on the rest of the courts.

“I didn’t think I started that badly, but he was hitting the ball very, very big,” said Murray. “But once I got ahead I relaxed and played very well.

“There were a lot of rallies, and I learned a few things out there. I started making more first-serve returns and then started playing better.

“It is different under the roof – there are no elements to contend with, so they are good conditions to play under.”

The British No.1, who was runner-up in this year’s Australian Open and a semi-finalist at the French Open, will face Slovenian Blaz Kavcic or Germany’s Tobias Kamke in the second round tomorrow.

Kamke was leading 6-3, 7-6, 1-5 on Court Six when rain hit the All England Club. Murray is seeded four behind defending champion Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, who defeated Murray in the Australian Open final.

Nadal also won his first-round match yesterday while Federer and Djokovic are both due to be in action today.

The 125th running of the championships began amid predictions that it could be blighted by poor weather and the Centre Court roof was used for the first time late yesterday afternoon.

Bookmakers William Hill slashed the odds on rain stopping play on every day of the tournament from 10/1 to 8/1.

Thousands of ticketless Murray fans who planned to watch his match on a giant TV screen on a hill inside Wimbledon known as Murray Mound were left disappointed.

Organisers switched off the screen amid fears the ground would become too slippery in the wet conditions.

Wimbledon spokesman Johnny Perkins said: “It’s a health and safety issue. We just can’t have people slipping and sliding and falling off the thing and breaking their ankles.”

Earlier, Nadal had eased through with a straight-sets victory over 33-year-old American Michael Russell.

Celebrities including Sir Terry Wogan and former England rugby coach Sir Clive Woodward watched as Nadal took less than two hours to win 6-4, 6-2, 6-2.

The Mallorcan, fresh from his triumph at the French Open earlier this month, spoke of his delight at playing on Centre Court on the opening day of Wimbledon for the first time.

Injury prevented Nadal from returning to defend his first Wimbledon crown in 2009, the year after he ended Federer’s five-year unbeaten streak, but as 2010 Wimbledon champion he was first to step on to the iconic court shortly after 1pm.

He said: “Seriously, I never played in a court like this. It was a big emotion to be the first player to play in this fabulous court. It was a very, very exciting feeling.”

In the women’s singles, five-times champion Venus Williams zipped through the first round with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Uzbek-istan’s Akgul Amanmuradova, but it was her flamboyant outfit which caused the biggest stir.

The 31-year-old American kept her opponent waiting on court for several minutes before she arrived wearing a “peekaboo”-style playsuit she had designed herself.

Playing only her second tournament since suffering a hip injury at the Australian Open, Venus said the outfit, which included an open back and zips across her front and hips, was one of her simpler creations.

Britain’s Katie O’Brien, 25, ranked 221 in the world, said she might quit tennis after being beaten 6-0, 7-5 by 40-year-old Japanese veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm

“There are actually other things I could do,” O’Brien said.

Organisers said yesterday’s attendance was 38,617 – down by 1070 on the opening day last year. Other celebrities who attended included Hollywood actress Kirsten Dunst and Scottish motor racing legend Sir Jackie Stewart.

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