Roger Federer emerged from convalescence in the wake of a stomach virus without a mark on him but left a fair few on Diego Hartfield, of Argentina, his hapless first-round opponent. After almost eight weeks without a match, the world No 1 played with imperious disdain, dropping only three games. Hartfield should have asked to see his opponent’s sicknote to be sure that this was not an elaborate con.

The period of mourning for the end of Britain’s interest in a grand-slam tournament arrived earlier than usual and was greeted by The Age newspaper with the headline, France 29, Britain 0 – a reference to the number of players remaining in the main draw from either country.

But this is not a time for cheap points-scoring. If the number of recognisable accents around Melbourne Park is significantly reduced after Andy Murray’s first-round exit and the championship is poorer for the passing, one Scot’s departure offers enhanced opportunity elsewhere.

Such has been the progress of Robin Haase, the Dutchman who is a month older than Murray and who won for the first time in the main draw of a grand-slam tournament yesterday – beating Ivan Ljubicic, the former world No 3 from Croatia – that he may be joining the British No 1’s management group, which is keen to invest in and build on his promise.

It is easy to see why Haase is turning heads. British audiences will recall his defeat by Tim Henman in the Davis Cup tie against the Netherlands in Birmingham last year – a three-set match that included two excellent tie-breaks – after which he went out into the city with his girlfriend, bought a round of drinks for the Dutch journalists who were in the same bar, got to bed at about 3am and still put up his hand when asked to play the dead rubber against Jamie Murray on the third day of the tie.

There is something about Haase that makes you warm to him. If there is not much of him physically – with spindly legs and pipe-cleaner arms – he has a sense of timing, an array of strokes, not least on the return of serve, that baffled Ljubicic, combined with enough of an attitude to make for a compelling package.

The lad is bright, too, having passed seven subjects at the highest level of the Dutch school system, including physics and chemistry, which meant that he did not take to the professional circuit until after his 18th birthday. “There are a lot of players around my age, like [Marin] Cilic [of Croatia] and [Evgeny] Korolev [of Russia], who have become top 100 players, but they have had that much more experience than I have,” Haase said after his 6-7, 6-3, 6-0, 7-6 victory. “I had a wonderful year last year [rising from No 167 to No 114 in the world] and now I want to build on that. Everyone says they want to be No 1 in the world one day and that would be a dream, but I would like to be in the top 50 by the end of this year.”

Haase is the Dutch No 1, the first name on the Davis Cup teamsheet, and he accepts that with such fame comes the burden of expectation. “It is tough sometimes, a lot of hopes rest on me, but I know being the No 1 will give me a lot of opportunities to gain the experience I need,” he said.

Richard Krajicek’s victory at Wimbledon in 1996 spawned a successful period for Dutch tennis. Martin Verkerk reached the 2003 French Open final, while Sjeng Schalken, Jan Siemerink and Raemon Sluiter had their share of success before the lull came. Now Haase is doing more than plugging the gap; he is filling it.

The lowest-ranked player (No 216) left in the men’s draw has the doubtful privilege of a second-round meeting with Lleyton Hewitt, the former world No 1. Denis Istomin, of Uzbekistan, received a wild card here by virtue of winning the Asian Championships last autumn; he made hay yesterday and is next in line for the 2006 finalist, who beat Steve Darcis, of Belgium, 6-0, 6-3, 6-0 in the opening round.