British tennis players' failures at Wimbledon were today branded an embarrassment.

Sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe said he was “tired of excuses” as to why British players were not doing better and suggested funding should be slashed if they do not improve.

“It's embarrassing when only two players get through in the first round of Wimbledon,” he told the BBC.

Mr Sutcliffe spoke out after only Andy Murray and Elena Baltacha, out of 11 British representatives in the singles at Wimbledon, made it to round two.

“We're not successful at the elite level and I want to know why,” he added.

The Queen has been revealed as an Andy Murray fan. The Scot wrote on Twitter: “Got a nice letter from the Queen saying well done for winning Queen's. Put it in its own pile away from the bills ...”

Meanwhile, Murray plays Latvian Ernests Gulbis this evening. And if his first-round match against Robert Kendrick belied something of a nervous disposition somewhere within the world No3, his fellow professionals have not spotted anything around the grounds of the All England Club.

When Novak Djokovic was asked if he had detected anything different about the Briton amid the hype surrounding his Wimbledon bid, he smiled before replying: "The only thing that's changed is his haircut."

Roger Federer described Murray's four-set victory as "normal" and believes he had the situation under control throughout.

Although the destination of the match was probably never in doubt, the 22-year-old will want to take a less circuitous route to the third round when he takes to Centre Court against Ernests Gulbis today.

One of the few question marks surrounding Murray's tactical approach is whether or not the Scotsman can be aggressive enough on a surface that clearly rewards positive thinking more than others.

Only he can answer whether that aggression - which deserted him on occasions against Kendrick, allowing the American the time to fire winners from all sides - was tempered by nerves but world No7 Gilles Simon believes he is capable of handling all he encounters.

He said: "Andy is a great player but there is little point in putting all this pressure on him because he wants to win it more than anyone watching.

"He has an excellent understanding of court position and knows how to manoeuvre people around to tie them up in knots.

"Maybe two years ago people were still not sure about him but now he is one of the most respected players in the locker room.

"He hasn't won a grand slam yet but we all know he is playing well enough and he seems to take everything in his stride. I am sure he can handle the attention but it is not easy."

Simon should know. The 24-year-old enjoyed a superb 2008, winning three titles and breaking into the top 10.

But 2009 has been something of a disappointment - 29 wins to 19 losses underline his inconsistency - and an early exit at the French Open in front of his home fans stressed the difficulties of dealing with expectation.

"Playing under pressure is a different challenge and one you have to rise to on a regular basis if you want to get into the top 10," said Simon, who plays Thiago Alves, of Brazil, today.

"I struggled in front of my own fans and then came to England where it was a lot easier to play.

"Grass is not my favourite surface but I went to Queen's and then the Boodles Challenge at Stoke Park to get away from everything and focus on my fitness.

"Andy went to Wimbledon to practise and that will have helped his mental preparation. He knows how to ready himself for big matches and if he does lose at Wimbledon it will be because he played badly or the other guy was exceptional, not because he did not deal with pressure."

Murray planned to arrive at the All England Club around midday for a light 45 minute practice session with coach Miles Maclagan where they would finalise his gameplan.

Gulbis remains a raw prospect ranked at No74 in the world and aged just 20.

The Latvian has a fierce serve and is a big hitter but does not move as well as Murray on grass.

He is a former French Open quarter-finalist but has never been beyond the second round here at SW19 and has not managed to record back-to-back victories on the ATP Tour this year which highlights an inconsistency Murray should be able to exploit.

The Scot won both their previous meetings, including last year's three- set victory at Queen's Club during which he used a medical time out to help cure neck and thumb problems that Gulbis felt changed the course of the match.

"Andy just broke my rhythm and I was not an experienced enough player to deal with that at the time," he said.

Murray denied the claim and condoned the use a "tactical time-outs".

He said: "That's very disappointing to hear. I never once used any of the rules that certain players have used to try to gain an upper hand in a match or to slow my opponent down.

"Definitely, when I played him at Queen's that was simply not the case. I didn't know there was a problem over the issue but I couldn't grip the racket the following day.

"It's a form of cheating. It's bending the rules to gain an advantage. It's a bit like diving in football.

"It does go on and certain players do it and certain players don't. I'm one of the guys who doesn't do it."

Whether it's simulation or expectation, Murray clearly believes neither will affect his Wimbledon hopes.