Carlos Alcaraz began his quest to retain his Wimbledon title with a hard-fought victory over Estonian qualifier Mark Lajal.
The Spaniard endured a first-set tiebreak before slowly finding his rhythm to see out the match 7-6 (7-3) 7-5 6-2 on Centre Court.
The Spaniard is attempting to win back-to-back major titles after triumphing at the French Open last month.
“Stepping on this court, it is the most beautiful court I have played on,” said the 21-year-old. “I still get nerves when I play here.
“I practised for 45 minutes on Thursday, and it was the first time I was nervous about practicing because I was playing on this court.”
Lajal, 21, made his Grand Slam debut memorable. He fought hard to stay in the game, but there was always going to be one outcome against his more illustrious opponent.
“Honestly, it surprised me a bit because I haven’t seen him playing or practising too much,” added Alcaraz. He has the level to go up a lot. He is young, the same age as me, and I am sure I will see him more often.”
Alcaraz will face Aleksandar Vukic in the next round after the Australian edged Sebastian Ofner in a five-set thriller.