Andy Murray of Britain reacts after defeating David Goffin of Belgium in their men's singles tennis match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, in London June 23, 2014
Andy Murray of Britain reacts after defeating David Goffin of Belgium in their men's singles tennis match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London June 23, 2014 Reuters

Andy Murray got his defence of the Wimbledon crown off to a vibrant start as he cruised into the second round with a straight sets victory over David Goffin on the opening day at SW19.

On his return to the stage where he defeated Novak Djokovic to seal his second grand slam last year, the 27-year-old booked his place in the second round with a 6-1 6-4 7-5 win over the young Belgian on Centre Court.

However Murray's compatriot James Ward could not match his achievement, becoming the first British man to be knocked out of this year's Wimbledon as he lost 6-2 6-2 6-1 to Russian 17th seed Mikhail Youzhny.

On the woman's side Johanna Konta, who moved from Australia two years ago and is now competing under the British flag, failed to consolidate her inaugural foray into the women's top 100, after being beaten by China's Shuai Peng in the first round with a 6-4 3-6 6-4 loss.

Later in the day Dan Cox became the third Briton knocked out of the tournament, succumbing to Frenchman Jeremy Chardy in four sets.

The first day of the tournament also brought bed news for Spaniards Fernando Verdasco and Pablo Andujar, who both fell.

The No. 24 seed Verdasco - who caused Murray problems before losing to the eventual champion in last year's quarter-finals - ended his participation at Wimbledon after losing 6-4 4-6 6-4 6-2 to Australia's Marinko Matosevic. Meanwhile, Andujar was beaten by the Slovenian Blaz Rola 6-3 6-1 6-4.

Rafa Nadal will play Martin Klizan on Tuesday.

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