THERE was a hint of a bright future for British tennis at London’s Queen’s Club yesterday but for now, the present is still all about Andy Murray, who remains on track for a record fifth title at the Aegon Championships.

The 21-year-old Englishman Kyle Edmund gave Murray a few problems, taking the second set in their quarter-final encounter, but the Scot quickly righted the ship, clinching a 6-4 3-6 6-1 victory, dodging a bullet and more dodgy weather.

In truth, anything other than a win for Murray would have been an enormous shock and in many ways, a three-set win over a young pretender was the perfect PR exercise on Murray’s part.

The world No.2 will need to play much better if he is to get past Marin Cilic in the semi-finals today but he was happy to discuss Edmund and what he believes is a healthy prospect.

“Obviously Kyle's the future of the game in this country,” he told the crowd. “It's important that he's given time to develop at his own rate, and not too much pressure is put on him.

“The forehand is a big shot, that’s his main weapon. The serve isn't slow, it’s a big serve. When he's landing first serves and then getting the first shot of the rally on his forehand, he can dictate a lot of the points.

“If you want to get to the top of the game, you need to have weapons and he has them. His backhand is solid. He doesn't make too many mistakes off that side.

“There are obviously things he's going to continue to improve, as well. But he is improving all the time. It's not like he's just stabilising. His game is getting better all the time, and that's very positive.

“I’ve spent a bit of time with him on the practise court and stuff and I really like his coach. He's got a fantastic attitude and has him working extremely hard.”

Murray knows plenty about Edmund – whose ranking will climb from 85 to 68 on the back of his week’s work – having invited him to off-season training in Miami in each of the past three years.

Edmund has time on his side and Murray had to work harder than he might have expected to reach the last four.

Before the match, four of the tournament’s other four-time champions – Roy Emerson, John McEnroe, Boris Becker and Lleyton Hewitt – were presented with special trophies to celebrate their achievements.

The reason for doing it yesterday was that Murray will trump the lot if he wins title No.5 tomorrow and perhaps he had Becker, now the coach of Novak Djokovic, in mind when he hit a brilliant diving volley to break for 4-3 in the opening set.

“I know Boris talked about he used to practice them and stuff, but I have never practiced them,” Murray said.

“That was just kind of instinct, a big point, and thankfully I didn't hurt myself. Because if you don't do it right, you can hurt your wrist or shoulder if you land funny. I managed to roll out of it OK.”

Having taken the first set, Murray found himself a break down at 1-3 in the second and after breaking back, a nasty-looking slip at the net reminded everyone just how perilous tennis on grass can be.

Thankfully, Murray caught himself before he could do any damage to his groin and though he subsequently dropped serve again and then the set, he responded well as he ripped through the decider to move on.

“It’s fine,” he said of his groin. “But when you slip and fall over, it is a shock at first.

“You sort of fear the worst, and then after a few seconds you feel a bit better.”

Britain’s Leon Smith eschewed the spot he often takes in Murray’s support box for a seat at the back of the court and liked what he saw from Edmund.

"Kyle showed he wasn’t overwhelmed by the occasion,” Smith said.

“He’s getting more and more used to this environment and the bigger stage, and once again we saw the qualities he’s got. I think he’s a on a great track."

The possibility of an Ivan Lendl-John McEnroe clash, in the stands, moved a step closer after Milos Raonic beat Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain 6-1, 6-4 to reach the semis.

McEnroe who is working with Raonic for the grass-court season, for now, looked impressed at what he saw and the added spice of a clash with Lendl might be something he will relish.

But Murray said Lendl, who this week returned to the Scot’s team after two years away, was focused only on helping him.

“I don't know if, for him, with John around and Boris and maybe some of the other guys that he's played against, if that adds anything to it for him or not. It's not something I have discussed with him.”