A quick glance at his biography in the ATP Tour media guide is enough to confirm Andy Murray is used to notching up firsts.

Take last season for example.

The first British player to win five titles in a year in the Open era.

The first British player to finish in the world's top four at the end of the year.

The first British player to reach a Grand Slam final since Greg Rusedski in 1997.

And this season the firsts have kept on coming, most significantly becoming the first British player to reach number three in the world rankings.

So what about the chances of the ultimate 'first' as far as British tennis fans are concerned; becoming the first British winner of the men's singles at Wimbledon since Fred Perry in 1936?

Well, if past form is anything to go by, Murray should reach the semi-finals at the All England Club to continue the upward momentum of his career to date.

The 22-year-old has improved markedly every year, ending the last four seasons ranked fourth, 11th, 17th and 65th respectively.

Similar steady progress has been made at Wimbledon itself, the Scot reaching the third round on his senior debut in 2005 and the fourth round a year later.

His progress was disrupted by the serious wrist injury which kept him out in 2007, but the improvement continued last year with a run to the quarter-finals which featured a thrilling comeback win against Richard Gasquet in round four.

With the man who ended that run in the last eight - Rafael Nadal - struggling with a long-standing knee injury, Murray's prospects look brighter still, and even more so when his record against the other likely Wimbledon contenders is taken into consideration.

Murray has won six of his eight matches against 14-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer, including the last four in a row. His only defeat against the Swiss superstar in their previous seven matches came in last year's US Open final.

And against Novak Djokovic, the man he has supplanted as world number three, Murray trails 4-3 in career clashes, but has again won the last three contests, two in Masters Series finals and all three in straight sets.

"I just think my mindset going into matches is much better now because I've been playing consistently well," Murray explains.

"I'm going into each match confident, not as many nerves. In the past I've been a little bit erratic with my performances. I feel like now I've become more consistent. That's made a big difference."

Murray is now a genuine contender in every tournament he enters, reaching at least the quarter-finals in seven of his last eight events, including a first last-eight appearance at Roland Garros.

"For me it's obviously a good thing," added the 22-year-old. "I think when you do become a contender for a slam, obviously the seeding helps with your draws. It gives you - it gives me anyway - that little bit of extra confidence.

"The US Open was a great run for me. I learned a lot from that and hopefully I can keep it going.

"Hopefully if I'm in that situation again (a Grand Slam final) this year, I'll be better prepared.

"Obviously, with people talking about you there comes an extra bit of pressure, but sometimes it's good. The other players are expecting you to do well, maybe go on the court with a bit more respect for you.

"Maybe if they come close to winning sets or matches against you they can get a bit nervous. So I think it works in a few ways."

Much was made of Murray becoming world number three, surpassing the best ranking achieved by both Tim Henman and Rusedski, and there has even been talk of the Scot reaching the very top of the rankings sooner rather than later.

"I'd obviously love to be number one, I'm sure all players would at some point in their career," he admits.

"But I'd want to try and win a slam first. I think that's the next step for me."

And so to Wimbledon, the next chance for that first slam and the first time the Centre Court roof could be in use.

Murray experienced the best Wimbledon has to offer in terms of atmosphere during his thrilling win over Gasquet last year, but still believes there is more to come.

"I think the roof will improve the atmosphere," he added. "Every time I've played a big match indoors, even if it's 3,000, 4,000 seats, the noise gets trapped in there and it becomes even better."