It was the most convincing performance of their nascent relationship, Andy Murray sweeping aside Blaz Rola for the loss of just two games.
Perched in the seat that Ivan Lendl filled last year, his successor Amelie Mauresmo watched with a calm authority on No1 Court. But what has been the Mauresmo effect in the few days that she has started working with the Wimbledon champion?
The answer, apparently, is not a lot.
Asked about the changes the Frenchwoman had brought to Murray’s game, he said: “Not loads because you can’t change things in a week. You can’t make massive differences to the way someone plays.
“I think they can definitely help with your mindset and your concentration and things like that. I think it’s easier to make a quick improvement on those things but in terms of making changes to my game or improving things in my game, that will take longer.”
For both parties, this remains a trial period but should the results continue in this manner there is little to suggest there will be a parting of the ways between the pair come the end of the Wimbledon fortnight.
“It’s been good,” he said. “I enjoy spending time with her on the court, I enjoy spending time with her off it. We chatted well about the matches. We obviously discussed the things I felt like I needed to improve or add things to my game. We’ve chatted about that. We agreed on most things, so that’s good.
“I think it’s been working well so far but, again, it’s very difficult to make a change in the space of a week. It takes time in all sports.”
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Murray said the Mauresmo partnership was reminiscent of being coached by mum Judy growing up, quite aside from the very obvious gender issue which has been the major talking point since Mauresmo’s appointment.
Variety appears to be the buzz word from the Murray camp. It is what his mother instilled in him, it is something Mauresmo is pushing for, and it was apparent as Rola struggled to make any sort of inroads into the Murray game plan.
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“That was something Amelie did very well,” he said. “The variety, it’s an important part of my game. It’s something I’m sure she’ll encourage. That’s how I’ve always tried to play the game. That’s how I grew up playing, that’s what my mum tried to teach me.”
Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut lies in wait in the third round. It is a first competitive meeting for the pair although they have practised together this year in Valencia.
It is only Bautista Agut’s second time at Wimbledon. A year ago he only reached the second round but he won his grass-court warm-up tournament, the Topshelf Open in Holland and appears to be happy on the surface.
Murray’s side of the draw is opening up. David Ferrer, a quarter-finalist for the past two years, was a surprise casualty meaning Grigor Dimitrov is most likely lying in wait in the last eight.
The challenge of Bautista Agut is “a step up”, according to Murray. Quite how he and Mauresmo tackle that will become clear tomorrow.
