THE presence of the former king of Spain and Jose Mourinho, the Chelsea manager, at Queen's Club might have been something of a distraction, but Andy Murray's focus was never called into question as he swept aside Yen-Hsun Lu of Korea in straight sets.
The Scot kicked off his Wimbledon preparations yesterday with a relatively straightforward 6-4 7-5 victory that put him in round two of the Aegon Championships in London.
Full of confidence after a clay-court season in which he lost only one match in 16 - his semi-final at the French Open against Novak Djokovic - and back at home on perhaps his best surface, Murray looked relaxed as he recovered from an early break down in each set to see off the world No.63.
Murray has long since rid himself of any demons from their first meeting - when Lu beat him in the first round at the 2008 Olympics - and there was no panic when he was broken for 3-2 in the first set or 1-0 in the second.
On each occasion, he broke back immediately and the Scot finished the match in style, crafting a beautifully-flighted topspin lob over Lu for match-point.
"I felt I moved pretty well," said Murray, who was kitted out in Wimbledon all-white and a new pair of Under Armour shoes which he said have been several months in the making. "I didn't start the match off serving so well, I got that rhythm more in the second set, but I felt like I hit the ball well from the back of the court."
Murray, who will play Fernando Verdasco of Spain in the next round, will be spending even longer on grass this year than in previous years.
Not only was there the extra week between the French Open and Wimbledon to allow more time for practice, but Murray will lead Britain against France in the Davis Cup quarter-finals at Queen's Club the week after Wimbledon.
It's a tough assignment but since the start of the year, when he reached the final of the Australian Open, Murray has been fully focused and intent on peaking as often as he can.
"I have said that this year I want to try to perform better in more events," he said. "You're not going to win every single tournament, but I think the more opportunities you have to play in finals and semi-finals against the best players, it's beneficial when you get to major competitions.
"So I want to try to do well here, because I think that's the best preparation for Wimbledon to play matches here. Obviously Davis Cup is important as well. It's a very, very tough match and France, I would say, would go into that match as favourites, but it's one that is winnable if everyone plays to their highest level."
Murray played a significant role in ensuring the tie would be on grass and the Scot's words carry a lot of weight in many areas of the game in Britain. When Wimbledon release their first batch of wildcards today, they will do so having scrapped the old stipulation that a British player should be ranked inside the world's top 250 to justify one.
Instead, the LTA's list of recommendations they pass on to Wimbledon will be completed on a case-by-case basis. Murray approves. "I think it's good to do that," he said. "Obviously, some guys can have injury troubles. Some guys could be ranked inside 250 and have terrible attitudes and maybe it's not deserving; some players could have fantastic attitudes and maybe are just outside; some guys play much better on grass than others so may have more of an opportunity to win matches.
"Also when you have some young guys now, an 18 or 19-year-old that's ranked 280, 300 in the world [who] is very good for their age, they'd probably be in the top five, six, seven in the world in their age if that was the case.
"I have no problem with it being done on an individual basis rather than having a set criteria."
Considering the spotlight he is under when he plays at home, Murray has always dealt with the expectation and pressure put on him from various quarters. The Scot said the demands away from the court can be a bit taxing but in general, the positives far outweigh the negatives.
"When you get out on the court, it's great to play in front of a home crowd, packed stadiums in all of the matches," he said. "It makes it a great atmosphere, helps you lift your game.
"In all sports, it's a benefit to play at home. For some reason, the media tell the tennis players that it's a huge pressure to play at home. There is pressure but it's great to play in front of a home crowd and get great support."
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