An all-too familiar scenario beckons for British tennis fans at Wimbledon once again, with the nation's hopes resting on the shoulders of one player.
With Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski retired, the burden of expectation falls on Andy Murray as number 12 seed chases his first grand slam title.
Outside of Murray, the cupboard is bare, although genuine comfort can be taken from Anne Keothavong's steady climb up the women's rankings.
The 23-year-old from Hackney recently lost to Marina Erakovic in the final at Surbiton to take her to a career-high 92 in the world.
She is the first British woman to break into the world's top 100 and to gain entry to Wimbledon without the need of a wildcard or participating in a qualifying tournament since Sam Smith nine years ago.
Keothavong has been on the ascendancy since 2005 - knee surgery a year earlier put her career on hold for eight months - and has firmly established herself as the number one female in British tennis.
Her best performance at Wimbledon was reaching the second round in 2004 but there is genuine hope she can progress further this year.
Snapping at Keothavong's heals is Katie O'Brien, who is currently sat at a career-high 104 in the WTA rankings.
Predictable
O'Brien has shown a steady improvement since turning professional in 2002 and the 22-year-old from Yorkshire will be looking to improve on her best Wimbledon performance, a place in the second round last year.
British ladies tumble out of Wimbledon in the opening rounds with predictable ease and Elena Baltacha has failed to progress beyond the first hurdle since 2004.
Born in the Ukraine, Baltacha comes from rich sporting stock, with her father a former footballer for Dynamo Kiev and her mother an ex-Olympic athlete, while brother Sergei plays football for St Mirren.
Mel South, aged 22, has flirted with the second round once, while Naomi Cavaday, 19, has yet to reach that far in her two attempts to date.
For the men, it is lean pickings outside of Murray, partly thanks to Alex Bogdanovic's frustrating career entering another trough.
Bogdanovic raced to 108th last year, and after pushing Andy Roddick close at Queen's, he was tipped by the American to break into the top 50 this season.
Instead, the 24-year-old, who has never been beyond the first round at Wimbledon, has plummeted down to 243 in the world.
Basingstoke's Josh Goodall, ranked four in the UK, has not been beyond the first round of Wimbledon in three attempts.








