ANDY MURRAY has long been one of the biggest cheerleaders for British tennis, taking the country’s players under his wing, happy to offer advice and encouragement in an effort for them to achieve their potential.

It is a generosity of spirit that paid enormous dividends last year when Murray led Britain so brilliantly to a first Davis Cup title in 79 years.

Kyle Edmund, James Ward, Dan Evans and new British No.2 Aljaz Bedene have all benefitted from his help of late but on the court, there is only one leader.

Murray showed Bedene a clean pair of heels here at London’s Queen’s Club yesterday as he beat the world No.58 6-3 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals.

It was not a flawless performance from Murray, who is still adjusting to the grass after such a lengthy and successful clay-court season, which culminated with his first French Open final.

One break, in the eighth game, was enough for Murray to win the first set and he then broke for 2-1 in the second, only for Bedene to break back.

Bedene, who is still hoping to overturn a decision banning him from playing Davis Cup for Britain because he has already played for his native Slovenia, is a tidy player and broke back for 2-2.

But Murray grabbed a second break and this time held on comfortably to take his place in the quarter-finals, where Edmund will provide further British opposition.

The 21-year-old Englishman possesses a big serve and forehand and is tipped to rise much higher than his current ranking of 85.

The withdrawal through injury of Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu helped his cause, moving him into the quarter-finals of a Masters 500 event for the first time and he should already be inside the top 70 on the back of his efforts here.

Being around Murray, he said, has been a huge benefit to his tennis education.

“He's been the biggest inspiration for players my age,” Edmund said. “He’s the guy who we have looked up to.

“Andy has had all the pressure, all the expectations, and he's dealt with it very, very well on the court with his results. He's been a good role model for everyone.

“It's a privilege for me to be able to have someone like that to look up to and also to engage with, on the court and off the court.

“You speak to him about the game. You look at him and see what he does. His work ethic is something I have always found extremely high and has shown why he's so good.

“It's very fortunate for me that he's allowed me to come into his environment and shared stuff with his team. It's good that he's opened up to me and let me learn from him. It's definitely helped me get better.”

Murray’s dedication to the cause was there for everyone to see here when he went back out onto the practise court yesterday for more time on the grass, with the vagaries of the English summer having denied him his usual build-up.

“I haven't got to play loads,” Murray said. “On grass yesterday I was wanting to get a couple of hours in and it rained after an hour and 20 minutes. I didn't get to do my full practise.

“And then matches on the grass obviously aren't as physical as they are on the other surfaces. Although it's an hour 25, hour and 30 minutes, the points are so short that you don't come off physically that tired.

“So if you can go out and hit a few extra balls just to spend more time on the courts and improve your timing, you know, a little bit, it all adds up. Hopefully I'll play a little bit better tomorrow because of that.”

Murray said it was difficult to judge how good Edmund can be but said he would not underestimate his ability.

“He's done better more quickly than people maybe expected. The last 18 months or so he's made big improvements, won a number of Challengers and is winning matches consistently on tour now on all of the surfaces, which is very good.

“In the [ATP] Race this year he's in the top 50. If he can continue on that path and that trajectory – most guys are playing their best when they get to their mid to late 20s now – there's no reason why he can't get himself up into the top 20, top 30 in the world, and from there you never know.

“He's got a big game, he's a strong guy, and his mind is focused on tennis. That goes a long way.”