Andy Murray set for centre court (From Western Telegraph)

Andy Murray set for centre court

4:54am Tuesday 26th June 2012 in National News © Press Association 2013

British hopeful Andy Murray will take to centre court as he begins his attempt to become the first British man to win Wimbledon in 76 years.

The Scot takes on former world number three Nikolay Davydenko on Tuesday afternoon, hoping to return to form after disappointing appearances at the recent French Open and Queen's tournaments.

Murray, who was at the south-west London club's practice courts with brother Jamie on Monday, said he plans to spend as "little time as necessary" at the courts during the grand slam. Writing in his blog, he said he will "come in, get my tennis done, have physio, a massage and then leave".

Thousands of fans turned up for the first day of play on Monday, and Tuesday is expected to see Murray Mount packed with spectators keen to see the 25-year-old make a good start.

The Scot remains Britain's biggest hope in the men's tournament after Josh Goodall slipped out, losing 6-4 3-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 to Grega Zemlja, and 18-year-old Oli Golding crashed out 1-6 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (9-7) 7-5 to Russian Igor Andreev in his first senior appearance at Wimbledon.

World number one Novak Djokovic got his title defence off to a strong start, beating Spanish veteran Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-3 6-3 6-1, and in the women's tournament, Maria Sharapova sailed into the second round with a 6-2 6-3 win over Anastasia Rodionova.

Third seed Roger Federer, going for his seventh Wimbledon title, also cruised through the first round against Spain's Albert Ramos, racing to a 6-1 6-1 6-1 victory.

David Nalbandian kept his temper, despite losing 6-4 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 to Serbian Janko Tipsarevic.

Young Brit Heather Watson praised the "amazing" crowd as she celebrated her first ever Wimbledon win on Monday. The 20-year-old from Guernsey had to wait until the evening to see where her match would be played, giving her little time to prepare but she triumphed 6-2 6-1 in front of the roaring Centre Court crowd.

She said: "I'm so pleased to have got through that. It was tough not knowing when I was going to be on but it worked out pretty well for me. This is my first singles win at Wimbledon including juniors so I'm so pleased. The crowd was amazing."