Andy Murray will walk on to Centre Court at Wimbledon today to take the first steps on a journey that a nation hopes will end in glory. The British No 1 plays his first-round match against Fabrice Santoro, a stylish Frenchman whose dearest wish has been to appear at the most hallowed arena and in front of the most fervent crowd in world tennis.

Murray and Britain will hope that Santoro repeats his performance at the French Open last month, when he managed to win only one game against David Ferrer, of Spain. But this is Wimbledon and the banana skins lie thick on the lush green turf.

At least one of Murray’s rivals, though, believes that he is maturing quickly enough to reach the final stages at the All England Club, even if he cannot win the title. Lleyton Hewitt, the 2002 Wimbledon champion, trained with Murray over the weekend and saw flashes of the raw talent that could make him a threat. “He’s got an outside chance of doing well here and going into the second week of a grand-slam tournament,” the Australian said. “Potentially, with the way he plays and moves extremely well on this surface, he’s got a shot.”

Hewitt’s assessment seems to fit with the bill of health drawn up by Murray. Whatever happens today, Wimbledon should be adorned by the new-look Murray, who says that he will refuse to allow the tension and national fervour to overwhelm his ability.

“I’m just going to be myself on the court,” the Scot said last night. “The last few months, I’ve been much more laid-back than I was, especially towards the end of last year, and I don’t think I’m as expressive as I was the first time I played Wimbledon. I’ve seen videos of my matches then and I was jumping all over the place. I’m a little bit different to that now.”

But the tension is palpable whenever a Briton plays at Wimbledon and it overwhelmed Elena Baltacha yesterday when she won her first-round match 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 against Angelique Kerber, of Germany.

The tears came in a flood from a player who has made several come-backs from serious injury and illness and dismissed accusations that British women wilt too easily in the fierce competition of grand-slam tennis. “It was just the pure relief of getting through,” Baltacha, 24, said. “I just couldn’t stop the tears. I was nervous and emotional, but I knew it was a winnable match.”

Baltacha’s mother, Olga, was at her side as she walked off No 11 Court, barely able to contain her nerves. “I could hardly stand. My legs had gone,” her mother said.

Baltacha’s victory was a rare shaft of light on a dark day for British tennis. Melanie South, 22, one of Baltacha’s training partners at the showpiece National Tennis Centre in southwest London, put up a plucky fight against Alona Bondarenko, but went out in three sets. However, on a day of hot sunshine and facile first-round victories for the No 1 seeds, Roger Federer and Ana Ivanovic, the exit of Alex Bogdanovic was the big disappointment.

The Briton, 24, inherited the coaching services of Brad Gilbert, hired at huge expense by the Lawn Tennis Association to help Murray but moved on by the Scot, who preferred his own training methods. Bogdanovic protested that working with Gilbert had been “an amazing experience” and that his influence is working, improving him mentally and tactically - but not yesterday as he lost in four sets to Simone Bolelli, of Italy.

Apart from Murray, a British run of success could be difficult to find today, with Naomi Cavaday first on Centre Court playing Venus Williams, the four-times champion from the United States. Cavaday will not want to be overawed, but the challenge could hardly be more daunting. Maria Sharapova will also show off her new line in fashion, wearing shorts for the first time to play Stéphanie Foretz, of France, on No 1 Court.