Andy Murray: Centre Court special & meeting Shaquille O’Neal

The day itself was quieter than normal, if anything. The one o’clock start was my earliest at Wimbledon for quite some time, so that might have had something to do with it, and I had to shift my usual routine forward a little, but I tried to keep everything as similar as possible.

Amelie and Dani Vallverdu from my coaching team had sent me a few videos of Goffin’s matches against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at Wimbledon and Queen’s Club, so we chatted about them and went through a few tactical things.

When I got to the locker room it was actually pretty empty, which was nice as it gave me some more time to think in peace and quiet. It’s a very familiar place for me now and I have the same locker throughout the year when I come back as a member of the club. That’s nothing to do with superstition – I don’t even know what number it is, I just know which locker it is and head straight for it.

Dani was with me in the locker room and we headed downstairs to the warm-up area and saw the physio, before it was time to get on court.

The nerves were not too much of a problem – I’d been feeling nervous for a couple of days already – and to get such a great reception from a full Centre Court crowd was pretty special. I managed to enjoy the experience, just as Amelie had suggested, before getting to the chair and switching my focus to the match ahead.

It was a special day but it was only going to be one I would remember fondly with a win. Thankfully I played very well. My timing was good from the start and I coped well when he began to play some really good tennis in the second and third sets.

There was a treat for me after the match when I got to meet NBA star Shaquille O’Neal for the first time.

I’d known he was coming to Wimbledon for a few days and it was great to grab a quick chat. I’m a big basketball fan and he’s someone I watched play live a few times when he was with Miami Heat. He’s retired now but I still see him on the TV all the time. He’s so funny, very entertaining, and it’s worth watching some videos of him if you can.