It was a scream that sent chills through British tennis.

Andy Murray had just fallen awkwardly and was lying in a crumpled heap on the centre court at Queen's.

His anguished cry echoed around the stands and for a moment it looked like the Scot's grasscourt season, and any hope of British success at Wimbledon, was about to come to a premature end.

Eventually the Scotsman struggled to his feet to grind out a win over Ernests Gulbis, but the thumb and neck injuries he suffered forced him to pull out of Queen's a day later.

Murray missed last year's Wimbledon with a wrist injury but his Queen's injuries shouldn't condemn him to another year on the sidelines after he came through a charity match against Serbia's Janko Tipsarevic this week with no reaction.

The interest in a 21-year-old's thumb only serves to emphasise just how much the British sporting public want the Scot to end their long wait for a singles champion, a wait which stretches back to Fred Perry in 1936.

As Tim Henman can testify, taking the weight of Britain's annual two-week love affair with tennis can be a hefty burden.

Furthermore, trying to satisfy the home crowd has been too much for many of the world's best players as Lleyton Hewitt, who has never won the Australian Open, and Amelie Mauresmo, never far from a French Open meltdown, can testify.

But Murray insists he gets an adrenaline boost from playing in front of a partisan Centre Court crowd.

"The support you get is unbelievable playing on Centre Court in front of 14000 people," he said.

Being the focus of so much attention could become suffocating but Murray manages to block out the constant demands on his time from fans and media.

"If you don't have a life outside of tennis the pressure can become a bit hard but I try to do something with my friends on a day off," he said.

"It is important to block everything out when you are on the court and remain focused on what you actually trying to do.

"The pressure has not been too bad this year. Last year I was asked about my wrist every single day. That wasn't too nice but this year has been fine."

Murray has been seeded 12th for this year's tournament, guaranteeing he will avoid the likes Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal until the latter stages, but he was unhappy not to have been put a place higher to match his 11th position in the world rankings.

"I feel like I am one of the top grasscourt players in the world, but because I missed Wimbledon I am going to lose out because of it, which I think is a little bit tough," Murray said.

Murray can at least take heart from the verdict of Bjorn Borg, who knows exactly what it takes to triumph there after his five titles.

The Swede believes Murray has all the qualities needed to win on grass — if he can stay fit.

"I don't think he's going to win Wimbledon this year, but I think definitely in future Andy can win that tournament," Borg said.

AFP

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