THE Centre Court celebrated but it was the muffled roars from Court No.1 that relegated the return of the Olympic hero to the scene of his golden triumph as the backstory of a day of extraordinary drama.

Andy Murray will be content that the headlines screaming of shock and upset have a Spanish subject rather than one closer to home. The Scot's advance to the second round of Wimbledon was almost endearingly routine. He defeated Benjamin Becker of Germany 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 in one hour 53 minutes with an ease that is at odds with the way he once progressed through major tournaments.

Murray of old was the maverick who took his supporters to the brink, who cruelly teased his fans with displays of brilliance interspersed with moments when all seemed lost. There was once a mandatory nervousness in watching the 26-year-old. The new Murray is confident, relaxed and in control.

His performance yesterday against the world No.95 was measured and cool, even if his undeniable flair could not be wholly suppressed.

It was also historic. Murray is now officially the most successful British man in grand slams in terms of matches won. He overtook Fred Perry's tally of 106 victories by defeating a plucky Becker.

This step into the record books was steady and predictable. Murray launched 11 aces at speeds of up to 133mph and played powerfully off his forehand but it was his ability to dismantle Becker with precision that was most admirable.

The German carried a threat. He has won a grass court tournament ('s-Hertoenbosch in 2009) and defeated Bernard Tomic at Queen's earlier this month. He hits strongly and had a puncher's chance on Centre Court. In short, he was capable of causing Murray some irritation. He may even, on the day of Rafa Nadal's demise, had the very outside chance of causing an upset that would have had demented Fleet Street editors shouting for larger type.

The Dunblane player, though, does not go out in first rounds of grand slams. The last time he suffered such a fate was when he was defeated by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Australia in 2008.

Five years on, Murray has grown physically to be a player of immense strength, capable of trading blows with the biggest of hitters. But he has retained, even refined, his sublime shotmaking. Crucially, he has also enhanced his ability to come up with a gameplan that confounds opponents, particularly those outside the Big Four.

Becker was the main course for the world No.2's voracious appetite for success yesterday. He was sliced and diced and consumed with ease.

The underdog was not completely without bite and he fought with spirit. In the first set, Murray had two points to take a 5-1 lead but Becker held out and broke back before Murray took a second set point.

There was no alarm in Murray or among his support. He applied the finishing moves to Becker in two sets of consummate professionalism.

The crowd could relax, knowing they were in safe hands as Murray mixed the booming serve with the swish of the devilish slice. The loud roars that greeted Murray on his return to Wimbledon became cheers of appreciation at his total command.

Murray has now won 12 successive matches on grass and has done so by defeating such as Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, both in the Olympics. They almost certainly stand between him and the glory of winning a grand slam at Wimbledon.

Nadal, of course, has gone but Murray could only have met the Spaniard in the semi-finals, where he could play Federer.

"It's pretty irrelevant right now," he said of the departure of the two-time Wimbledon champion. "I'm sure for you guys it's very relevant, but for the players, especially me, it's irrelevant. I have to win at least four more matches before that would even become something I would think about. It's obviously surprising. But, you know, the consistency that Rafa, Roger, Novak have shown in the slams over the last five, six years, it's going to be almost impossible to keep that up forever."

The Murray match was played in the sort of atmosphere where everybody is having a good time but is also aware that the big event is being played next door. The Scot heard the murmurs of the crowd as the Nadal score against Steve Darcis was placed on screen at change of ends.

"You obviously hear the noise and stuff. I was aware of what was going on, but I wasn't thinking particularly long and hard about it when I was on the court," he said.

Admitting that, as tennis fan, he was disappointed at the departure of his friend and rival, he added: "He's one of the best players that's ever played, so it's a shame in that respect. But I'm not here to worry about all of the other players just now. I just have to focus on myself, my matches, try to take care of them one at a time.'

This was the essence of yesterday for Murray. This was a job well done and without any unnecessary drama. Grand slam titles are built on such humble but substantial foundations.

The new Murray also disposed of the fingers to the sky celebration of old. Predictably, he did not explain what the gesture had meant or why it had been stopped.

"It was just something between me and the people that are close to me. That was why I did it. There's no reason for me to discuss that. I've celebrated matches in many different ways in my career but today I didn't do anything."

He did enough to progress to the second round against Yen-Hsun Lu and to suggest that celebration may just be a motif for his Wimbledon 2013.