LONDON -- That was as good as Andy Murray has looked all year.
Troublesome hip, patchy form -- questions had been raised over the defending Wimbledon champion and current world No. 1 prior to his opening match against Alexander Bublik on Centre Court. He answered them with a commanding 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 victory Monday.
Murray, aiming to defend a Grand Slam title for the first time in his career and become the first British player to do so since Fred Perry in 1936, looked uneasy on the practice courts earlier Monday morning.
Had the British No. 1 felt any discomfort, it certainly didn't show. Murray dazzled SW19 with supreme shot selection, powerful baseline hitting and acute net play that kept his debutant opponent from ever getting a sniff. The top seed looked quite at home -- barring two brief rain delays.
"I love playing on Centre Court, I feel comfortable here," Murray said in his postmatch news conference. "I played pretty good. I moved quite well. It's not the easiest match to play cos of the way he plays. There's not a lot of rhythm.
"I was a bit nervous this morning. I haven't been able to do as much as I would've liked in the build-up. I didn't know much about my opponent. For a first match, considering how I was feeling five or six days ago, I felt good.
"My hip felt good, it's a little bit sore, but I was moving really good. I'm really positive about that."
Bublik, who received a lucky loser place at the tournament following Pablo Cuevas' withdrawal through injury, has a reputation for being a bit of a joker on tour -- one who Murray knows all too well, having been interviewed by him for a YouTube video last May.
The 20-year-old had asked Murray for advice, with the Scot replying: "Don't serve 20 double-faults in a match."
And after the pair were seen chatting during one of the rain delays on Centre Court, Murray was keen to continue the fun.
Murray joked: "We were waiting to go out the beginning of the third set. I think I had just broken him. When I got interviewed by him in Indian Wells earlier in the year, I think I spoke to him right before the interview. I asked how his match had gone there.
"He said 'I served like 20 double faults'. He asked me if I had any advice for him in the interview. I said 'try not to serve 20 double faults'.
"Then he said to me just before he went on: 'Thanks for the advice about not serving double faults'. I said 'you served a few'.
"He said: 'Yeah, I think I'm on about 10 right now'. I said 'Well there's still time to get to 20'. It was funny. It's rare that you speak to someone during a match, I just asked him how he liked Centre Court. Just had a little chat."
Despite his procession into the second round, Murray may need to find extra against his next opponent, Dustin Brown, the man who shocked Rafael Nadal to reach the third round in 2015. Brown came back from a set down to see off Portugal's Joao Sousa in four sets on the opening day of the tournament.
The German then indicated it would be "an honour" to face Murray, and the two-time champion isn't taking anything for granted.
"Today's match was similar -- [Dustin] plays a similar way. He's a great mover and great to watch.
"I know Dustin pretty well. We message each other from time to time. He's a really nice guy. I expect him to be very aggressive, he'll go for his shots and he'll come forward a lot. He's unpredictable. He's not easy to play against and he's had big wins here in the past. I'll go out on court and expect him to play good tennis."