Andy Murray will step on to Wimbledon’s Centre Court today with the nation behind him and the British No 1 firmly believing that he will walk off celebrating the greatest victory of his life.

A cliffhanger of a Wimbledon men’s singles quarter-final against Rafael Nadal, of Spain, is about as good as it gets for an expectant British public who have taken Murray to their hearts. The threat of thunderstorms today persists, though, and Nadal and Murray are the second match on Centre Court, which favours neither — but this is sport at its sharpest edge.

Tim Henman, who for years kept British fans on the edge of their seats but failed to deliver the ultimate success, appreciates what it is like to prepare for such an experience. The four-times semi-finalist said: “Commentating on Andy’s match [the five-set victory over Richard Gasquet, of France] on Monday, I was able to reflect on some of my matches and I feel as though I ought to be apologising for all the torture I put people through. I was so nervous watching it.

“When you are out there, you’re in the moment, running around and somewhat in control of what’s going on. But when there is nothing you can do, it is nerve-racking. There are facets to Andy’s game he’s got to do well against Nadal. He needs to serve aggressively, you need cheap points from Nadal and they don’t often come. From the baseline, you have to play aggressively to his forehand and open up the backhand. For me, Andy’s attitude and demeanour has been first-class and the knock-on effect is the support he’s had because the atmosphere on Monday was incredible.

“He’s been able to raise his own standards because before, when he’s been petulant on the court, it has been harder to support him. But he’s been so positive, even in the difficult moments, he’s fought his way out and the crowds here have seen enough tennis to know what he’s going through. The people are getting to know him as a person and player.

“The [Yevgeny] Kafelnikov match [Henman’s first on Centre Court in 1996] was a turning point and that support was present throughout my career. He’s been a bit unfortunate the way some things he has said have been interpreted, but his performance and attitude and the way they’ve received him is just what he has needed.”

Nadal, the No 2 seed and beaten finalist in the past two years, has lost only one of his past 31 matches, in the second round of the BNL D’Italia Masters Series event in Rome, when he was suffering from terrible blisters on his right foot. The French Open champion is in the form of his life and it was significant yesterday that he decided on one discrete practice session and preferred not to talk to anyone bar his closest confidants afterwards.

This match has enormous meaning for him — as it has for Murray, who also left the grounds yesterday without a word to the waiting throng.The hysteria that greeted Murray’s arrival in the quarter-finals has been marked by a significant improvement in the 21-year-old’s personal profile. He will return to the world’s top ten next week and the opportunities are boundless for a player who has shown he can excel on the greatest stage.

The raging drive behind Murray’s ascent to a first appearance in the last eight of a grand-slam tournament caught not only the attention of international audiences, but also those who may be tempted to invest in the future of the British game. Or, at least, in its standard-bearer. Max Clifford, the leading public relations expert, believes that a victory over Nadal could potentially earn the Briton about £20 million, while victory in the tournament could bring in £50 million.

However, Murray’s management company, ACE Group, was swift to ridicule stories yesterday linking its client to a long-term future with IMG, widely regarded as the daddy of all sports management organisations. ACE Group has been carefully piecing together the Murray portfolio over the past three years and it believes that it is perfectly placed to handle the flood of extra interest in its leading client.