Carlos Alcaraz endured an early test in his Wimbledon title defence but the Spaniard quelled the challenge of Estonian qualifier Mark Lajal 7-6 (7-3) 7-5 6-2 to move into the second round on Monday.
The 21-year-old Spaniard, seeded third this year, came through in two hours and 22 minutes against Lajal, also 21 but ranked 266 places lower.
The Estonian sported dreadlocks pulled back in a pineapple-style ponytail on his Wimbledon debut.
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He took a chunk out of the three-time Grand Slam winner with a break of serve in the opening set.
Lajal broke Alcaraz again early in the next set but he was unable to make the advantage count and his opponent broke back to love immediately before pouncing again in the 11th game.
With the momentum having swung, Alcaraz, who last month added the French Open to his Wimbledon and US Open titles, hit straight back and continued to reel off the points for a two-set lead.
He raised his game further in the third to break with a superb backhand crosscourt winner and he never looked back from there to close out the victory.
“He played a really good match,” said Alcaraz. “Obviously he surprised me a little bit because I hadn’t seen him too much.
“He’s young, he’s my age and I’m sure I’m going to see him really soon on the tour and play him more often.
“But I’m really happy to get through and get my first win on Centre Court this year.”
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Fifth seed Daniil Medvedev strode confidently and cheerfully into the second round with an assured 6-3 6-4 6-2 win over American Aleksandar Kovacevic on his favourite Court One.
“I’ve still never lost on Court One so hopefully I can play a lot more matches on this court,” a smiling Medvedev told an appreciative crowd in an on-court interview.
“Last year I said it was unfortunate I had to go to Centre Court for the semis and I lost.”
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