Andy Murray threw in an underarm serve as he overcame a stiff examination of his form and fitness to get his Wimbledon campaign up and running.
The former world number one faced a race against time to recover from an abdominal strain he suffered a fortnight ago in time to play at SW19.
The injury did not seem to be an issue but the match sharpness probably was after Murray was broken twice on his way to dropping the first set against unseeded Australian James Duckworth.
But Murray was soon motoring again as he wrapped up a 4-6 6-3 6-2 6-4 victory, with a cheeky underarm serve – only the second of his career – thrown in for good measure.
“It’s amazing to be back here with a full crowd, it’s an amazing atmosphere,” Murray said.
“Obviously I’m getting on a bit so I don’t know how many more opportunities I’ll get to play on this court, so I want to make the most of every time I get to come out here.
“Hopefully I’ll get another match on here in a couple of days.
“I thought I did well to rebound after the first set. Once I started to find my returns I felt a bit more comfortable and I’m glad to get through it.
“There’s always nerves, pressure, butterflies and stress, and it was a longer build-up for me because of the ab injury, so it’s great to get out here and get a win under my belt.”
Dream debut for Raducanu
Emma Raducanu put her troubled build-up behind her as she marked her Centre Court debut by defeating Alison Van Uytvanck to reach the second round of Wimbledon.
The 10th seed’s participation in the tournament was in doubt until the weekend because of a side strain suffered at the WTA Tour event in Nottingham three weeks ago.
Coupled with the huge attention on the US Open champion’s homecoming and a tricky opponent, this was a major test, but Raducanu passed it impressively by claiming a 6-4 6-4 victory.
In her on-court interview, Raducanu said: “I know Alison’s an extremely tricky opponent, she’s had great results on grass. I played her last summer and on grass where the balls stay so low it’s extremely tricky to neutralise such a great serve.
“I’m extremely pleased to have come through that match and looking forward to hopefully playing in front of you guys again.”
On the support she has received, the 19-year-old said: “I’ve been feeling it ever since I stepped on to the practice courts, people behind me going, ‘Emma you’ve got this’. And I’m like, ‘Yeah, I’ve got this’.
“I’m just so happy to stay another day.”
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