Hello and welcome to our coverage of Wimbledon! After all the wait and endless build-up, it’s time for Andy Murray, the defending men’s champion, to take his place on Centre Court. Awaiting him across the net is the diminutive Belgian David Goffin.

MURRAY 6-1 6-4 7-5 GOFFIN. MATCH! Victory is Murray’s as he digs out a 0-30 deficit in the final game before closing with a curling ace down the T. A strong and convincing victory for the Scotsman as he begins his quest for a repeat of last year’s glorious triumph.

MURRAY 6-1 6-4 6-5 GOFFIN. BREAK! Poor old Goffin thought he was cruising again as he established a 40-0 lead, only to see it fall away in a series of errors and miscalculations. Murray sensed his frailty and noticeably upped the tempo of his strokes, departing from his more passive play and forcing the ball into difficult positions. Goffin responded with a couple of errors, offering Murray a chance to serve for his first victory.

MURRAY 6-1 6-4 5-5 GOFFIN. Murray’s serve has monopolized this set and it continues as another love game is his with ease. No frills and little effort as he levels up third-set proceedings. A deciding tiebreak looms in the distance.

MURRAY 6-1 6-4 4-5 GOFFIN. Goffin is certainly growing in confidence. He first slicks to the net and plays a gorgeous drop volley, before powering a backhand straight down the line and an inside-out forehand winner while skipping backwards. Just as it appears the winners are flowing and it appears he can do no wrong, he twice sins and both game points are gone. He recovers, however, and a strong backhand crosscourt forces an error out of Murray and brings home another game.

MURRAY 6-1 6-4 4-4 GOFFIN. As usual, Murray only takes a Goffin hold as an invitation to one-up the challenger and slams down his own superior serve to brutal effect. A couple of big serves are intertwined with a quick serve and forehand winner combination and an ace to hold.

MURRAY 6-1 6-4 3-4 GOFFIN. The holds are coming fast now as the race towards the set commences. This time, Goffin finds a series of strong first serves and, as is the norm on a grasscourt, it doesn’ t take too long for the hold to follow.

MURRAY 6-1 6-4 3-3 GOFFIN. It takes Murray little time and effort to level things up once more as he slams down a few serves and brings himself to 40-0. A slap of a return from Goffin erases the first, but the second is Murray’s shortly after.

MURRAY 6-1 6-4 2-3 GOFFIN. Up 40-0, Goffin looks well on his way to a third routine hold of the set. But before he knows it, a couple of rushed shots swipe out two of the break points as Murray drags him from left to right on the third. As Murray dispatches a solid forehand approach shot straight down the line, Goffin responds with a screamer of a sliced passing shot, the shot of the match, to hold in a flurry of excited fistpumps and a rare smile.

MURRAY 6-1 6-4 2-2 GOFFIN. Out of nowhere, an all guns blazing Goffin finds himself up 15-30 in a flurry of backhand winners, only for a long rally to end with a tentative forehand passing shot from Murray that leaves acres of space for Goffin to pass him. Two break points come, both of which see Murray hit the back edge of the line. He saves both, however, and digs out a hold with thanks to a Goffin error and a strong serve.

MURRAY 6-1 6-4 1-2 GOFFIN. A long rally which sees the pair testing each other’s backhand leads to an ominous 30-30 point but a searing, swinging serve out wide followed by a wide serve to the other side on game point conspire to give Goffin a second hold of the set.

MURRAY 6-1 6-4 1-1 GOFFIN. Murray once again follows up a Goffin hold with a quick and efficient big serve-dominated hold of serve to place the pressure back on his opponent's shoulders. So far, few dips in concentration from the Scot.

MURRAY 6-1 6-4 0-1 GOFFIN. Some vigorous fistpumping from Murray as he grinds down Goffin in a long point, eventually goading him into a forehand winner attempt that was never ever on. He eventually finds himself up break point, but two missed returns in a row leave him fuming and shaking his head. A forceful shot that skids the back of the baseline is enough for him to hold.

MURRAY 6-1 6-4 GOFFIN. SET! Ooh! Goffin falls over again…and again. the first comes after the first point of the game and the second slip comes as he attempts, and fails, to hit a volley. His lack of grip on the Wimbledon lawn mirrors his grip on the match as Murray powers down a serve down the T to put himself within a set of a perfectly comfortable victory.

MURRAY 6-1 5-4 GOFFIN. Goffin has found quite a rhythm on his serve as he holds once more and at least forces Murray to finish second set proceedings on his own terms. More solid serving and more slick ballstriking from the Belgian.

MURRAY 6-1 5-3 GOFFIN. It all looks on course for another uninterestingly efficient hold for Murray until he, at full stretch, unleashes a running forehand passing shot that leaves Goffin slipping, falling and wincing as he rolls around on the grass. It sure isn’t his day, and understandably so.

MURRAY 6-1 4-3 GOFFIN. Murray looks on the prowl for another break as he slips to a break point lead with a side-spinning dropshot that dies on the turf. However, Goffin rises with some authoritative ballstriking to dig out another hold, sending home a smash to seal it.

MURRAY 6-1 4-2 GOFFIN. A hold to love for Murray follows as an easy serve-filed game flies his way. A couple of massive serves skidding down the middle are enough for him to edge closer to a two-set lead.

MURRAY 6-1 3-2 GOFFIN. A rare simple game for Goffin looks on the cars as he connects with a slick backhand down-the line to bring him up to 40-0. Murray responds by turning the next point into a track meet, with both men running from corner to corner in a duel that only Murray was ever winning. A netted slice offers up another game for the challenger.

MURRAY 6-1 3-1 GOFFIN. Murray quickly finds himself down 15-30 with some brave shotmaking from the Belgian, but some strong serving and a couple of well-steered forehands after big first serve seal up the match for him. The Scot continues to cruise on.

MURRAY 6-1 2-1 GOFFIN. BREAK! Whoops! A Goffin first serve well in is called out. A correct challenge follows but a forehand error later he saunters to his seat down a set and a break.