Murray in no hurry

The 21-year-old Scot heads into Wimbledon, which he missed last year because of injury, with the weight of a nation firmly on his young shoulders. Much has been made of the fact Murray has not yet progressed past the fourth round of a Grand Slam event, while other players of his age group - namely Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic - have already been crowned major champions.

But Murray told PA Sport: "When Roger Federer was 21, he had not won any grand slams and was just outside the top 10, and people were saying similar things about him - 'when is he going to do this? why has he not done that already?' Some people take a bit longer to develop."

Murray has, though, endured more than his fair share of injury setbacks, with a thumb problem the latest to flare up during the Artois Championships at Queen's Club and so disrupt preparations for SW19.

Now playing with more confidence and displaying a range of shots likely to be crucial to his chances of making real progress at Wimbledon, 6ft 3in Murray - once more on the verge of a top-10 ranking - is in no doubt his game is shaping up nicely for the challenges ahead.

"I have a different game style to guys like Nadal and Djokovic, who play from the baseline, and it is a bit easier to learn how to play their style," he continued.

"Trying different things takes time to get used to, and physically I have needed to get much stronger over the past couple of years and I have done that.

"I think I am getting there, it has just not been as fast as some of the other guys."

Speed certainly seems to be key to Murray's game, and the Scot admits he would like the AELTC surface to play somewhat faster - a sentiment which would have gone down well with his predecessor as the home favourite Tim Henman, a serve-and-volley specialist.

"The courts are still slowish compared to what they used to be five or six years ago, but I think it does make for different styles of games being played," said Murray.