Aljaz Bedene, the Slovenia-born British No2 who was playing his first match at Wimbledon since qualifying for citizenship in March, found home advantage to his liking after completing a five-set victory over the Czech veteran Radek Stepanek.
The court temperatures may have been nudging towards record levels but Britain’s men avoided the traditional first-round meltdown, with James Ward also winning to ensure there are more than three of them in the second round for the first time since 2006.
The pair join Liam Broady and Andy Murray. Bedene battled hard over five sets to overcome Stepanek, the 36-year-old who was once the eighth best player in the world, 7-5, 1-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.