Cameron Norrie secured his passage through to the second-round after a fairly straightforward win over Pablo Andujar.
The British No.1 defeated his Spanish opponent 6-0 7-6 (7-3) 6-4.
Norrie’s win came in a rain-interrupted match with a number of crucial points held up by weather, but Andujar tried to hold on, putting up a stern fight in the second set, ultimately going down in the tie-break.
“That was not easy. I saw the dark clouds coming and someone shouted ‘get it done before the rain’ – I was like ‘come on, I’m trying to get it done’,” said Norrie after the contest.
“I just tried to stay as focused as I could,” continued the ninth seed. “It wasn’t the prettiest of performances, but I managed to get it done in straight sets and now I can move on.”
Norrie had demonstrated his resilience throughout the match, with the second rain delay coming just two points shy of him closing out the match.
With the temper of the Spaniard on the other side of the net flaring amidst some bad luck, the Briton was able to see himself safely into the second round.
Elsewhere, Jodie Burrage went down in straight sets against Lesia Tsurenko after a long delay ensued on court 18, with a ball boy falling ill and the Brit the first to show her concern.
However, compassion was not to be that necessary weapon of choice, as the world No. 141 lost 6-2 6-3.
On court 17, it was heartbreak for Japanese-born Brit Yuriko Miyazaki, who ran Caroline Garcia of France extremely close, just losing out in a final set championship tie-break, 10-4 in the third-set breaker.
The former world No. 4 Garcia looked to be in a dicey situation when she found herself 6-4 down to the home favourite, but she showed her fighting spirit and her experience to see off the world No. 234.
In doing so, she earned herself a place in the next round, against the 10th seed and fellow crowd favourite Emma Raducanu.
