TEMPERATURES were rising in South-West London but Andy Murray said he was happy to be regarded as a hot favourite to reclaim his Wimbledon title.

A decade after he made his first senior appearance at SW19 unburdened by any expectations, the 28-year-old says he will savour the pressure of being regarded by most bookmakers and onlookers as a strong second choice to land the title behind world No 1 Novak Djokovic.

The tennis world sat up and took notice in June 2005 when the teenage Scot strolled through two rounds, then held a two-sets-to-love lead against 2002 finalist David Nalbandian before succumbing gallantly, but his virtual anonymity back then could hardly be more different to the backdrop at Wimbledon this fortnight, when his image will adorn every front cover and TV screen in the country.

The 2013 Wimbledon champion, whose campaign begins on Tuesday against world No 58 Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan, recalled the onset of overnight stardom but said that embracing the full glare of the media spotlight this fortnight is the kind of challenge he lives for these days. The Scot arrives at Wimbledon with more match wins (41) in the calendar year than at any stage in his career, with the Queen's Club trophy already in his cabinet.

"I enjoy playing in the high€‘pressure situations - that's really what I play for now," the world No 3 said. "I enjoy these events. I prepare extremely hard for them and I feel like I'm coming in to the event as best prepared as I can be. But it's very easy to get carried away and look ahead, think I'm playing great tennis, everything's going to be fine. The reality is it doesn't really matter what's happened the rest of the year or in the build-up to the event as I think Stan [Wawrinka] proved at the French Open [his win in the final against Djokovic]. You have to make sure you're ready each day for every opponent that you come up against. I know how difficult these events are to win. I just concentrate on the first match and try my best to get through that one."

Such frenzied expectations certainly seemed a long way away in 2005, at least prior to straight-sets wins against George Bastl of Switzerland, then No 14 seed Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic.

"It was very different for me back then coming into the event, there was no pressure, no expectation," said Murray. "I didn't put any pressure or expectation on myself. I was just glad to be given the opportunity to play here.

"In terms of all the attention that week when I was playing, it went from zero to loads, really. After my second-round match I had a mixed-doubles match and I couldn't get out to the court. When I was going back to the place where I was staying, I had people following me, photographers and stuff. It was a lot more hectic back then for me away from the court, but on it there was also way, way less pressure."

Jonas Bjorkman of Sweden joins the heavily pregnant Amelie Mauresmo in Murray's coaching team, while this is the Scot's first competitive visit to Wimbledon since marrying his long-term girlfriend Kim in Dunblane in April. "Myself and Kim have been together for like 10 years now, so she's always been a huge support to me, especially when I've gone through tough, tough times," said Murray.