There’s nothing like a bit of edge to enliven the Davis Cup and clutching in his throat in a demeaning nature to mock an ill-advised suggestion that he is a choker, Andy Murray reignited the flames as Day One of the World Group play-off with Austria ended all square.

Austrians have never been popular opponents in the Davis Cup. It would be wrong to speak ill of the dead but the late Horst Skoff, who passed away after suffering a heart attack earlier this year, didn’t exactly elicit a lengthy list of testimonials amongst those he faced on the opposite side of the net while Thomas Muster fared little better in the popularity stakes.

Jurgen Melzer clearly feels a little aversion to Murray after the Scot recovered from two sets down in the US Open to score one of his most memorable victories. However it begs the question was he wise to suggest Murray might buckle under the pressure of bringing his Flushing Meadows form home to delight an adoring crowd around the All England Club’s No.1 court.

If Murray was indifferent to this tie, after opting to miss February’s visit to Argentina, he is most definitely up for a fight now. “It’s not nice when fellow professionals make those kind of suggestions,” said the world’s fourth ranked player. “The top guys deal with pressure in tight spots. That’s why, when I was two sets down and two points from losing to him in New York, I played my best tennis.”

It is also probably the reason Murray will insist to Lloyd that he most certainly wants to get back into action against Melzer in the potentially pivotal doubles encounter and then finish the job in the first of the reverse singles.

Murray is not a man to rile, be if with words or actions. He is never satisfied until he has exacted revenge and goes about it in a ruthless manner. And Alexander Peya has evidence ready to present to Melzer that Murray is bang on form, the 6-4, 6-1, 6-3 win proving the US Open runner up is maintaining the sort of form that beat world no.1 Rafael Nadal to reach his first ever Grand Slam final.

This was impressive stuff from Murray. Occasionally there was a suggestion of over confidence and once or twice a little slackness crept into his play but once he had berated himself for the misdemeanor, he clicked immediately back into top form.

Peya is only ranked 164 in the world and is regularly showed as Murray always seemed in control of the outcome throughout this 98 minutes long encounter. “He can play almost everything,” observed the Austrian. “He seems to be playing slow and then comes up with a very big shot. You never know what to expect from him.”

In fact that might not20quite be the case. Jurgen Melzer can expect plenty more bullet-like shots to be dispatched past him from the Murray racket. The Scotsman is a man who likes to get in the last word.