Andy Murray cruises into Wimbledon last-16 with slick victory over Roberto Bautista Agut

British tennis fans have truly never had it so good. There is perhaps a risk, now that Andy Murray has won three major titles, of taking him for granted. And yet it is a real privilege to be able to switch on the TV, or take a seat on Centre Court, and watch him unravel the world No23 with disdainful ease.

A cynic might ask what it says about the game that Roberto Bautista Agut can climb so high, and yet be completely outclassed in the manner seen on Friday. A week ago, Agut was winning a grass-court tournament in the notoriously unpronounceable Dutch precinct of 's-Hertogenbosch. Here he looked positively allergic to the green stuff.

And yet, how difficult must it be to go up against Murray - the world's best player on grass for the past couple of years - in front of a Centre Court crowd that has come to adore him? The fans were not simply cheering their man, as he cruised to a magnificent 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 victory. They were gasping in wonderment at some of the strokes flowing from his racket.

Murray spoke last week about the variation and flair that he used to admire in his new coach Amelie Mauresmo. “That's more my sort of style,” he explained, comparing her to his previous coach Ivan Lendl, “so it might be a bit easier for her to explain those things to me and help me work on my strengths a bit more. She might be able to help me work on my strengths a bit more". On Friday there were signs that the message is getting through, judging by the way he was working in several different registers at once. If Agut was tinkling a simple tune on the piano, Murray had access to all the different pedals and stops you might find on a Cathedral pipe organ.

There was the power flowing from every sinew when he stepped into his groundstrokes, particularly the crosscourt backhand. And then there was the delicacy, the ball curled into the most awkward positions. One little slice cleared the net by millimetres before dying halfway up the tramline - a part of the court that you would never even imagine utilising on clay.

Source telegraph.co.uk