The Locker Room: Murray's chance to win over the fans

Three years ago, the then 18-yearold charmed a Centre Court crowd led by Sean Connery as he stretched David Nalbandian to the limit. Twelve months later, he helped dispel the gloom of England's World Cup penalty defeat to Portugal minutes earlier by blitzing Andy Roddick.

Working well: Murray arrives for practice on Friday

Today's is perhaps the trickiest task of all. Not only will he face an awkward opponent in former world No 2 Tommy Haas, Murray must also convince the Centre Court patrons to take him back into their hearts.

Support in his wins over Fabrice Santoro and Xavier Malisse has been polite rather than passionate. Whether it be a lack of trust, empathy or warmth, the Scot has not yet fully replaced Tim Henman.

His coach Miles Maclagan argued yesterday that a fuller understanding of Murray's dedication to his craft away from the bright lights of tournaments would improve the player's image.

Maclagan said: 'I think it would gain Andy a lot of respect if the public could see how hard he works. It would be good to get an appreciation of what he does. Wimbledon is just the icing on the cake.

Andy Murray works out again on Friday

'It's the cold winter nights and he's out on the track when the wind's howling down the back straight and he's out doing his running. Or hitting serves when it's cold and windy. That's when you do your work.

'My first impressions of working with him were at a training camp in December. He worked so hard there. It was a mix of physical work and tennis. He did three-and-a-half weeks of hard physical work, day in, day out. There was no moaning, no excuses, no injuries. I thought: "Geez, this guy's tough".'

There was less generous praise yesterday from former Wimbledon champion Michael Stich, who believes his German compatriot Haas will emerge triumphant today.

Stich criticised Murray's development as a player. He said: 'I do not think Andy has improved in the way I thought he should have in the last 12 months. He has to work that out and his coach has to work that out.

'It's a tough match for him today. The weakness in Murray's game is the second serve. If Tommy really exploits that and attacks it, Andy could struggle.

'If both players play their best tennis, I'd still pick Haas to win.'