Andy Murray knows that every step he takes towards next week's Wimbledon final will send expectations among Britain's success-starved tennis fans soaring.

But the Scot insists he will not allow that to become a distraction as he chases his goal of becoming the first Briton since Fred Perry in 1936 to win the men's singles title at the All England Club.

The cool way that Murray negotiated a testing first-round match against American Robert Kendrick offered encouragement for his fans, but he is adamant that his thoughts have not drifted beyond Thursday's second round meeting with big-hitting Latvian Ernests Gulbis.

"To get to the final I will have to play great tennis. I've got to win five more matches and they are going to get tougher every round," he said.

"I know what I need to do but I'm not going to start worrying about getting to the final yet. Gulbis has caused some big upsets and he is a huge hitter. I need to be on my best game to beat him."

Tuesday evening's four-set battle with Kendrick was far tougher than anyone expected but Murray was satisfied with the way he closed out a 7-5, 6-7 (3/7), 6-3, 6-4 victory, and particularly with the quality of his serving -- the aspect of his game which has improved the most over the last 12 months.

"I was a bit disappointed to lose the second set because I had a couple of chances and did not take them and didn't have any real chances on my serve.

"In the whole match I think he he had two points on my serve and when you serving like that it is easier to say calm because you are the one creating opportunities.

"Once I managed to get the break in the third set I felt good. Staying calm was a huge part of doing that."

Murray will fly the Union flag as the only Briton left in the men's singles, but he played down suggestions the collective failure of his peers put more pressure on him to succeed.

"I'm not worrying about what those guys are doing. Regardless of whether you are one or there's ten Brits in, I'm just going to take care of my own business and not worry about what is going on with other players.

"If you do that, that is when you are going to get distracted."

The calmness Murray displayed on centre court carried over into the post-match interrogation from the press, during which he was asked to comment on Pat Cash's description of him as 'boring' with a monotonous voice.

"I don't really care," Murray responded. "I've said I don't think my voice is particularly interesting but, you know, I don't need it to be. I let my tennis do the talking and I think my tennis is quite exciting."