ANDY MURRAY has revealed a secret love of snooker which has helped put himself in the frame for Wimbledon victory.

The Scot, who meets Robin Haase in the second round of Wimbledon today, recalls playing the game with his coach Leon Smith at the Bridge of Allan sports club during his down time or whilst injured, and now likes to unwind by sneaking into the All England Club, where he is a member, to play doubles with his pals Ross Hutchins, and Jamie and Johnny Delgado.

He is rueful, though, about his maximum break, which is somewhere in the 20s.

“None of us are any good, but it is a fun way to spend time with friends,” said Murray.

“Although you are playing a game, it is a fun way to chat. If you go and play football, you are not exactly chatting the whole way through the game. It is not physically demanding either.

“When I used to practice at Bridge of Allan sports club we had a couple of snooker tables there and I actually used to play there quite a lot,” he added.

“When I injured my knee, me and Leon [Smith] would go there almost every single day and play snooker with each other, because I couldn’t do anything else. I enjoy doing it, although I don’t think it really helps with my tennis.”

Tennis is a rather more physically demanding sport, especially when it is played amid temperatures of 41 degrees, which were recorded on Centre Court on Tuesday during his first-round victory against Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan.

The Met office recorded yesterday as officially the hottest day in Wimbledon history, although showers are forecast for today. The Scot will play first up on Court No.1, but his match should still be played to a finish.

That would be a good thing, considering the previous meetings with Haase have contained no shortage of drama.

The Scot came from two sets down to win at the US Open in 2011, while at Flushing Meadows last year Murray cramped badly in his calves and forearm, conceding the third set 6-1 before coming through in four.

The Scot is determined that there will be less drama this time around, and he doesn’t want his chances of a third Grand Slam to be put down to an error in preparation this time around.

“The match I played against him in New York the last time, that was just a coincidence,” said Murray. “Whoever I had played that day it would have been pretty ugly for me.

"I was cramping after an hour and 15 minutes or something, so I don’t know how I managed to come through that match, to be honest. I came through in four sets but could have gone out of the tournament, not necessarily through me being the worse player, but because I missed something in my preparation and became very dehydrated.

"I don't know how many chances I'm going to have to win more Grand Slams, and to blow one because I hadn't prepared properly would be a huge regret.”

Murray doesn’t want any surprises today, but Haase is trying to produce one.

The 28-year-old from the Hague has won just one of the four meetings between the pair to date, on his home turf of Rotterdam back in 2008.

“I will try to find a weakness,” said Haase. “I have proven that I have beaten him once. Maybe it's a long time ago, but still, I beat him. I have also played a few close matches.

"In a Grand Slam it's even more difficult to beat him, but I will try to find a weakness. Even if I can't find it I will still try to win.”

Meanwhile, defending champion Novak Djokovic cruised to a straight-sets win over Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen in round two.

Nieminen, who reached the quarter-finals in 2006, is retiring at the end of the season and his final appearance took just an hour and 32 minutes as Djokovic eased to a 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 victory.

“It’s his last Wimbledon, I have had a very nice relationship with Jarkko for many years,” said Djokovic, who will play Australia’s Bernard Tomic in round three.

“He’s one of the nicest guys on the tour that I know on the court and off the court. In the present moment, maybe you are not aware how important it is, it’s a milestone for him, it’s his last match in Wimbledon. I’m sure he wanted to enjoy it a little bit so he deserved the ovation.”

Tomic will provide a tougher test, although the powerful 27th seed has never beaten Djokovic in the pair’s previous four meetings, which included a Wimbledon quarter-final in 2011.

Ninth seed Marin Cilic was made to sweat as he squeezed through 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (8/6), 4-6, 7-5 against Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis while Stan Wawrinka, Milos Raonic and Grigor Dimitrov are also safely through.

Fifth seed Kei Nishikori’s tournament is over, however, as the Japanese pulled out of his match against Colombia’s Santiago Giraldo due to a left calf injury.