If Andy Murray is feeling the pressure, then his acting is as proficient as his tennis. A relaxed, focused atmosphere pervaded the Murray camp yesterday as the No.12 seed steeled himself for his first match at Wimbledon in two years.

If Andy Murray is feeling the pressure, then his acting is as proficient as his tennis. A relaxed, focused atmosphere pervaded the Murray camp yesterday as the No.12 seed steeled himself for his first match at Wimbledon in two years.

As the afternoon sun shimmered over the practice courts at Aorangi Park, Murray hit with Jamie Baker, his close friend and fellow Scot, who has recovered from a life-threatening virus to take his place in the main draw.

21-year-old Baker afforded himself a couple of wry grins as a stream of Murray missiles whooshed past him. Heads popped through the hedgerows as eager fans attempted to catch a glimpse of their hero.

"This year's Wimbledon will tell us a lot we don't know about Andy Murray," insisted a TV reporter in portentous tones, as the man of the moment ripped into backhands over his shoulder. He was right. What is Murray capable of? That is the question on everyone's lips.

The 21-year-old's injury-enforced withdrawal last year meant that his last outing was a run to the fourth round in 2006. The gap makes his appearance an even more tantalising prospect. That he can handle the attention is not in doubt. Like Henman before him, the Scot grows in stature under the glare of public scrutiny.

The stats prove it. On his debut three years ago, ranked 312, he dispatched world No.13 Radek Stepanek in the second round and took David Nalbandian to five sets in an unforgettable match on Centre Court.

Two years ago, from a perch of No.44 in the world, he vanquished Andy Roddick in a performance so sprinkled with finesse that it could have been put to music, before losing to world No.16 Marcos Baghdatis in the fourth round.

Since his last appearance at Wimbledon, he has ascended to No.11 in the world and won five titles. Yet he has never gone beyond the fourth round of a grand slam.

After recovering from the wrist injury which kept him out of last year's tournament, he reached the third round of the US Open, lost in the first round of the Australian Open to eventual finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and was beaten in the third round of the French Open by Nicolas Almagro.

Murray opens his campaign today against veteran Frenchman Fabrice Santoro. If he reaches the fourth round, he is seeded to meet Richard Gasquet, the No.8 seed. Should he negotiate that, then Rafael Nadal is likely to be waiting for him in the last eight.

With barely a lick of sweat on his brow after his hour session, Murray ambled off court, gave possibly the shortest TV interview of all time and disappeared.

It was left to Baker to reflect on his friend's chances. "He'll definitely play well," replied Baker, as if he had just been asked if the sky was blue. "He looks fine to me. He loves playing here and has all the support.

"His game suits grass better than any other surface. If he's got a decent draw and doesn't have to beat three or four big guys in a row then he's got a good chance."

Murray claims that he has never been in better physical shape going into a grand slam. Baker, meanwhile, is just grateful to be back playing again. The Scot was enjoying the most productive spell of his career earlier this year when, in April, he was diagnosed with Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura, a condition which destroys platelets - the fragments of bone marrow cells that are important in helping blood to clot.

His platelet levels were so low that he could have bled to death from even a minor cut. "There was huge uncertainty about what it was and I was told not to move off my bed in case something happened," he said.

"I had to lie there for a good few hours before they moved me into a ward on a drip and I was there for 24 hours. They were worried that if I moved and it affected my head, it could be fatal."

After being in intensive care for three days, he was put on a course of medication and has recovered ahead of schedule. "I was hitting tennis balls between six and eight weeks after it but I wasn't moving around, just hitting a ball with a heart monitor on to make sure I wasn't going over a certain rate. But I have been hitting full out for about four weeks now.

"It was only about three or four weeks ago that playing here became a realistic target. I've had a really good day. Just to come into the grounds, to see all the people here and the sun shining, it's textbook Wimbledon stuff. At one point I thought there was no chance I'd see that again, let alone this year."

Baker admitted that the experience has given him a fresh perspective on the sport. "Tennis meant a lot to me. If I was having a bad patch, I'd judge myself as a person based on what I had done on the tennis court.

I definitely have a different perspective now. Being break point down in the first set of a tennis match anywhere in the world isn't so important now."

Baker will take on Stefano Galvani, the Italian qualifier, today. "Three months ago, if you'd told me I would be in a fine state to play, I would have signed for that every day of the week and twice on Sundays. Now I've got a decent draw, though, I'd love to win it. You get greedy."