Andy Murray will be served £10m jackpot if he is first Briton to win since 1936

Murray, effectively the No 2 seed behind Roger Federer after champion Rafael Nadal withdrew, faces unseeded American Robert Kendrick tomorrow.

Meanwhile hundreds of people in Wimbledon's tent city rose at dawn today in a bid to get a Centre Court ticket.

A dedicated few had camped out all weekend to give themselves the best chance of making it onto one of the All England Club's show courts.

George Brounos and his girlfriend Julie Wate arrived on Friday night to be at the front of the queue on the first day of the tournament — and their dedication paid off as they got their hands on the sought-after No 1 "queue card".

But the couple, from Southend, had to run the gauntlet of over-zealous park keepers who tried to kick them out.

They were saved by Wimbledon stewards who spoke to council officials and made sure they were allowed to stay.

Mr Brounos, 24, said: "We got here at 10.30pm on Friday and thought we had made a big mistake. There was no one else here. But a few others turned up soon afterwards and I guess it paid off because we are right at the front.

"The atmosphere has been fantastic. There was a big game of cricket on Saturday night and everyone was involved."

Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam tournament to sell on-the-day tickets and the camp was introduced in Wimbledon Park last year to make things a little more comfortable. About 1,500 people — from as far afield as the US, Australia and Saudi Arabia — camp out each night for the 500 tickets available for each of the three show courts. Some campers will be in the park for the entire fortnight of the Championships. Every morning they will pack up their tents, put them into the storage crates provided, and watch some tennis before starting all over again.

Sisters Carrie, Jessica and Samantha Buckley arrived yesterday to find many had got there before them. The trio, from Newbury, got lost on the way and were afraid they had left it too late.

Jessica, 19, a student, said: "We got a bit of a shock when we saw how many people were already here."

Geoff Hughes, 50, said he was hoping to cheer on British teenager Laura Robson on the new Court 2 as the girls' junior Wimbledon champion makes her senior debut.

The quantity surveyor, from Cheshire, said: "She did so well last year and we're all hoping she can go on to become a real star."