ANDY Murray hopes his victory over Alexander Bublik will prove good preparation for a second-round clash with another member of tennis’ awkward squad.

Murray coped very well with everything Bublik threw at him, including plenty of drop shots, huge second serves, a tweener and a diving volley.

The world No 1 can expect more of the latter when he takes on Dustin Brown, the flamboyant Jamaican-German who stunned Rafael Nadal in the second round two years ago.

“He plays a similar way (to Bublik) in terms of being pretty unpredictable, going for different shots, a lot of power,” said Murray. “Dustin plays a lot more up at the net than Bublik. He tends to come out with some great shots. He’s a very entertaining guy to watch.

“He’s a great mover, a really, really good athlete. He’s a good personality, as well. I know Dustin pretty well. We get on well with each other. We message each other from time to time.

“He’s unpredictable. He’s going to go for it. Also you know he hits a lot of drop shots. He can play slice. Sometimes he hits two first serves, goes for a huge second serve. It’s not easy to play players like that.

“He’s obviously had a big win here in the past against Rafa. I’m going to go out on the court expecting to play great tennis, give it a good shot. I’ll need to be ready.”

Murray’s performance against Bublik was hugely reassuring after the doubts over his form and fitness heading into the tournament.

The right hip remains a little sore but is not troubling him during points, with Murray subjecting himself to two ice baths a day in an attempt to keep the pain at bay.

Everything in the Scot’s game worked pretty well against Bublik, who managed just seven games.

It was certainly a more comfortable start to Wimbledon than the French Open five weeks ago, when Murray dropped sets in his opening two matches as he worked himself back into form.

The 30-year-old thought it might be the same here, but said: “Obviously clay is a surface that I’ve done well on the last couple years, but it’s not my most natural surface.

“If I’m not feeling confident, I haven’t won a lot of matches, I’m not feeling great, then that one’s going to feel a little bit worse. I’ll be a bit more nervous going into a tournament than maybe this one where I know I didn’t have many matches.

“I love playing on Centre Court, I feel really comfortable out there.”

Murray was back on the practice court on Tuesday for a 90-minute session, the majority of which was spent hitting with 18-year-old British hope Jay Clarke.

There were a few grimaces and stretches of the hip, and the now familiar limp was in evidence again, but Murray was able to complete all his drills.

The world No 1 takes every opportunity he can to include other British players in his practice schedule, with Clarke, Cameron Norrie and 16-year-old Scot Aidan McHugh all jumping at the chance over the last couple of weeks.

“Whenever I get the chance, I practise with them,” said Murray. “I had Jay Clarke in Paris with us a couple of days. I enjoy it. I like doing it. I like to see the other British players doing well. If I can help them a little bit, too, then that’s great obviously.”

Wimbledon has been Brown’s best grand slam with the 32-year-old reaching the third round twice, most famously of course with that stunning win over Nadal in 2015.

He is expecting a similar experience against Murray, who won easily in their only previous meeting at the US Open seven years ago.

“Obviously it’s an honour playing against him,” said Brown.

“I’m going to have to try and play the same way (as against Nadal), play aggressive. It’s tough. Andy is one of the best returners out there.”