Kyle Edmund was Mr consistent on Centre Court at Wimbledon as he stormed into the second round with a 6-4 6-4 6-4 win over Spaniard Jaume Munar.
Having survived an early scare after being broken in his first service game of the match Edmund turned on the class, taking the game to his opponent with clinical groundstrokes as he made the perfect start to the famous Championships.
And while he is eyeing improvement in Wednesday’s second round match against Fernando Verdasco, he acknowledged that victory is always the most important thing.
“First it was nice to win,” he said. “On Centre Court, always a great experience. You always remember every match you play there. “It was great for me. Coming through in straight sets, had to work hard for it, for sure. “He's a guy that puts lots of balls in, asking a lot of questions, making you win the points, not giving you a lot of pace on the ball. “I was having to really not force the issue, but create a lot of my own pace and shots basically coming forward as well. “You're going out there expecting to do well, and you have to go and do the business. So I'm happy with that. “It is good to win the first round, but you want to win more. It's no good just winning one round each time you come here. “There's always that eagerness to try and keep winning obviously and do your best." He faces another Spaniard in veteran Fernando Verdasco in his second round match-up on Wednesday. Earlier, fellow Olympian Heather Watson had become the first Brit through after she downed American qualifier Caty McNally first up on Court 12, running out 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 winner in the midday sun. After a nervy start that saw her serve broken four times in the first set, the Rio quarter-finalist settled in to take the tie-break in the first before wrapping up the second in comfortable style. And with the pressure of opening up her home Grand Slam in front of a packed crowd now behind her, Watson believes that she will only grow into the tournament from here on in. “It was definitely a shaky start,” she said. “I was a bit nervous today and I think it showed, but I thought I got better as the match went on. It wasn't my best tennis, but really pleased to get through. “First rounds in Grand Slams are always tough. There's a lot to gain, a lot to lose out there. Everybody wants to do well. It's normal to be nervous. “I had three double-faults in the first game. I actually said to my coach, ‘I'm going to serve first, I'm serving so well at the moment’. “Then that happened. It's not how you start, it's how you finish. I thought the last game was probably the best quality game of the match from both of us.” Watson will face No.20 seed Anett Kontaveit on Wednesday for a place in the third round - her best at the All England Club - while tomorrow sees a busy day for the Brits on court. In the women’s singles, previous semi-finalist Johanna Konta gets her challenge underway against Ana Bogdan, while in the men’s Dan Evans, Jay Clarke, Cam Norrie and exciting youngster Paul Jubb are all in action. Sportsbeat 2019