Murray laments British failings
WIMBLEDON
Date: 22 June - 5 July
Brit results not acceptable - Murray
Andy Murray says the depth of British tennis needs to get "way better" after nine of the home nation's 11 Wimbledon starters lost in the first round.
Only Murray himself and Elena Baltacha were left to fly the flag for Britain as the rest crashed out.
And the British number one said: "It's disappointing. The depth needs to get way better. It's not acceptable.
"But regardless of whether there are 10 Brits in or just one I'm still going to take care of my own business."
Scot Murray, 22, seeded to meet Roger Federer in the final, was taken to four sets by American Robert Kendrick on Centre Court.
Round-up - Brits struggle on Day Two
Baltacha, 25, from north London, won a fierce contest against Ukrainian Alona Bondarenko. She fell to her knees with tears in her eyes as she won the third set in front of an ecstatic crowd late in the evening, having conquered a player 73 places above her in the rankings.
BBC tennis correspondent Jonathan Overend said after Baltacha's 3-6 6-3 6-4 victory: "Had she lost, it would have been collectively the worst performance by British players in the Wimbledon Open era. The cracks are once again papered over, albeit with flimsy crepe paper."
Murray and Baltacha apart, the rest of the Brits were all reflecting on what might have been, none more so than Anne Keothavong.
The British number one has had a good season, reaching the top 50, and was expected to beat Austrian Patricia Mayr, ranked some 30 places below her.
But after dominating the opening stages of the match she missed a set point, then lost seven games in a row before surrendering tamely 7-5 6-2.
She had to take a break to compose herself when facing reporters afterwards.
In the men's draw, Alex Bogdanovic fell in straight sets to 20th seed Tomas Berdych, completing a run of eight career singles matches at Wimbledon without a win.
However, the 25-year-old stated: "I'm getting better every year. I'm confident. I just need to play a few challengers, win some matches and then I'm going to start playing more ATP qualifiers."
Despite losing, he will still cash in a cheque for £10,750, along with Keothavong, Joshua Goodall, Georgie Stoop, Katie O'Brien, Dan Evans, Mel South, Laura Robson and James Ward.
Murray does not want to think too much about British failure.
"I think when you start doing that you get distracted and you're not putting 100% focus on yourself, which is what I'm going to need to do the next couple of weeks," he added.
He next plays Latvian Ernest Gulbis in round two on Thursday, while Baltacha will bid to reach the third round for the only the second time since 2002 when taking on Kirsten Flipkens from Belgium.
