Defending champion Novak Djokovic overcame a scare to notch up his 80th Wimbledon win on Monday with a four-sets victory over Kwon Soon-woo of South Korea.
Order of Play | Win with SPAR | Watch Live on DStv
Six-time champion Djokovic triumphed 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 under the Centre Court roof.
But the top seed was made to work after falling a break down in the opening two sets against his 81st-ranked opponent – losing the second of those.
Djokovic becomes the first player, man or woman, to record 80 singles wins at all four Grand Slam tournaments.
"Now we have got to 80, let's get to 100," said Djokovic, a 20-time Grand Slam title winner.
"I didn't play any lead-up tournaments before Wimbledon so you always feel less comfortable.
"Kwon stays close to the lines, hits clean forehands and backhands so I had to find a way to go through him.
"That meant figuring out tactically how to get control of the points."
Djokovic will face either Australia's Thanasi Kokkinakis or Poland's Kamil Majchrzak for a place in the last 32.
RUUD SEALS MAIDEN WIMBLEDON WIN AT THIRD ATTEMPT
Norwegian third seed Casper Ruud registered his maiden Wimbledon victory in his third main-draw appearance when he saw off experienced Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas 7-6(1) 7-6(9) 6-2.
French Open runner-up Ruud failed to get past the opening hurdle in 2019 and 2021 and arrived at this year's grasscourt Grand Slam following a first-round loss at Queen's to world number 180 Ryan Peniston.
The odds were again stacked against the 23-year-old Ruud, who once joked that grass is for golfers, as he faced an opponent who had defeated him in three out of four career meetings -- though all the matches were on clay.
Ruud served strongly, dishing out 14 aces, and dominated the baseline battle against the left-hander during a rain-interrupted match.
Both players had opportunities in the first set but neither managed a service break before Ruud dictated terms in the tiebreaker to nose ahead.
The 34-year-old Ramos-Vinolas, ranked 34th, traded two service breaks with his opponent in the second and had four set points in the tiebreaker to level the contest but ended up losing it to fall 2-0 behind.
Ruud grew in confidence as the Spaniard's challenge melted away and after two breaks in the third set the Norwegian sealed victory to set up a meeting with Argentine Tomas Martin Etcheverry or Frenchman Ugo Humbert.
FOKINA WINS WIMBLEDON'S FIRST 10-POINT FINAL-SET TIEBREAK
Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina knocked 2021 semifinalist Hubert Hurkacz out courtesy of the tournament's first final-set 10-point tiebreak.
World number 37 Davidovich Fokina triumphed over the seventh-seeded Pole 7-6 (7/4), 6-4, 5-7, 2-6, 7-6 (10/8) in a match interrupted twice by rain.
Hurkacz, who defeated Roger Federer in the quarterfinals last year, saved three match points at 5-4 in the third set and another in the final-set breaker.
Hurkacz served for the match at 5-4 in the decider.
"When the rain came at 5-5 in the third set, I didn't know whether to have lunch or take a siesta," said 2017 junior champion Davidovich Fokina.
"I was struggling a little bit but I kept playing my game."
The Spaniard survived a barrage of 21 aces by Hurkacz and will next face Jiri Vesely of the Czech Republic.
ALCARAZ BATTLES BACK
Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz came back from two sets to one down to defeat Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff and reach the second round.
The 19-year-old fired 30 aces and 73 winners in a dazzling display of shot-making to win 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (7/3), 6-4.
Alcarez, the youngest man in the draw, next faces either Italy's Fabio Fognini or Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands.
MURRAY SAFELY THROUGH DESPITE SLOW START
Twice former champion Andy Murray showed he still has plenty to offer at Wimbledon as he overcame a slow start to beat Australian James Duckworth on Centre Court on Monday.
For once the British spotlight has not been focused quite so squarely on the 35-year-old Murray courtesy of US Open champion Emma Raducanu's meteoric rise.
Raducanu earlier marked her Centre Court debut in style by beating dangerous Belgian Alison van Uytvanck and for a while against Duckworth, Murray looked in danger of letting the side down.
But after dropping the first set, the former world No 1 showed his pedigree to win 4-6 6-3 6-2 6-4 and set up a second-round clash with big-serving American John Isner.
Encouragingly for Murray, who preserved his record of never losing in the Wimbledon first round, he appeared to be moving smoothly after being troubled by an abdominal injury that limited his grasscourt preparation.
Duckworth, who like Murray has battled back from hip surgery, had suffered eight successive Tour-level defeats stretching back to November, but came out firing.
He broke serve at 4-4 with a ferocious forehand return winner and then served out the set with another big forehand.
The mood on court was subdued but unseeded Murray, who has coach Ivan Lendl back in his corner, was unruffled and pounced for a 4-2 lead in the second and went on to level the match.
Murray began to exert his authority in the third set as world number 74 Duckworth complained about the light.
The fourth set was played with the roof closed and lights switched on and Duckworth was re-energised as he pushed Murray hard. But the Scot seized on a poor Duckworth service game at 4-4, breaking when his opponent dumped a second serve into the net.
Murray, champion in 2013 and 2016, needed no second invitation to rack up his 60th Wimbledon victory, sealing it when Duckworth opted to challenge a second serve rather than play the rally and Hawkeye showed it had hit the line.
ITALIAN SINNER'S FIRST TOUR-LEVEL WIN ON GRASS SENDS WAWRINKA OUT
Italian 10th seed Jannik Sinner won a clash of generations against three-time Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka on Monday, defeating the Swiss wildcard 7-5 4-6 6-3 6-2 in the Wimbledon first round for his maiden victory on grass.
Widely considered as one of the future stars of men's tennis, Sinner has made the quarterfinals of the Australian and French Opens but had yet to win a Tour-level match on grass before Monday.
The Italian lost his opening match on his main draw debut at the grasscourt major last year and came into this year's tournament having gone down to American Tommy Paul in the opening round at the Eastbourne tune-up event last week.
But he hit his stride early under overcast skies against Wawrinka, pinning the Swiss to the back of the court with his powerful groundstrokes.
"It feels amazing, obviously," Sinner said in his on-court interview. "It took a little bit, but I'm happy to be in the second round here.
"Against Stan, it was a very tough match because he is an incredible champion and he showed it so many times. I wish him all the best to come back stronger."
The 37-year-old Wawrinka won the last of his three major titles at the 2016 US Open and returned to the tour in March after a year on the sidelines due to two surgeries on his left foot in 2021.
He came into Monday's contest having won both previous meetings in 2019 against Sinner, who is 17 years younger, but the pair had never met on grass previously.
After the Italian bagged the opening set with a crucial break of serve in the 12th game, Wawrinka showed glimpses of his old self in the second and an early break saw him level the match at 1-1.
Sinner struggled with the sun in his face and also with the slippery conditions due to rain during the day but found his footing to cruise through the next two sets and seal the contest with his ninth ace.
"In the beginning it was tough, and with the sun also," he said. "But I'm very happy that, in the end, I played better, I served better. So hopefully it can give me confidence for the next round."
For a place in the third round, Sinner will play the winner of the match between Daniel Altmaier and Mikael Ymer with the latter leading 6-3 7-5 when bad light stopped play.