Sonay Kartal got Wimbledon off to a perfect start from a British perspective as she beat 20th seed Jelena Ostapenko.
It was a tough first-round draw for the 23-year-old, against an opponent who beat her a week ago in Eastbourne, but Kartal got her revenge in sweltering conditions on the opening day at SW19.
She rallied from 5-2 down to take the opening set and, after dropping the second, raced through a decider to seal a 7-5 2-6 6-2 victory in just under two hours.
Kartal will face world number 111 Viktoriya Tomova, in the second round, after Ons Jabeur retired from their first-round encounter.
"That was by far one of the toughest matches I've played,” Kartal said.
“I would say that I struggle against the big hitters, so getting that win today after her beating me last week was great.”
Those on Court 3 were given a swift introduction to life at Wimbledon without the line judges, as the new automated system called a foot fault on Ostapenko in the very first point.
It was otherwise an ideal start for the Latvian, her hitting from the back of the court too big and too accurate in the early stages. She strolled to the first changeover with a 3-0 lead, the break sealed with a drop shot as a rare departure from the usual formula of brute force.
Kartal had chances to break back, though two of them came and went after unforced errors on the Ostapenko second serve. That moved the seed 4-1 up and she was swiftly a game away from the set at 5-2.
The Briton, who broke into the top 50 in the world for the first time earlier this month, held serve to ask the question of Ostapenko and that proved the start of a run of five straight games.
Kartal brought up three break points and took the second of them with a big return to get it back on serve. Ostapenko’s answer, as ever, was to go for even more and it earned three set points on the Kartal serve, but she could not convert any. After 45 minutes of trailing, Kartal was level at 5-5.
Ostapenko suddenly found herself serving just to force a tie-break and by now was increasingly animated in her gesturing and muttering to her box. That mood was not improved when she dumped a backhand into the net to give Kartal the set.
Her frustration was taken out on a couple of noisy members of the crowd early in the second set, as Ostapenko aborted a serve, swivelled in their direction and waved her arms as though directing traffic. “Guys, you are not alone here,” was the reminder.
Again, though, Ostapenko raced out of the blocks, breaking at the first opportunity for a 3-0 lead.
Kartal was in danger of falling a double break behind as she served at 4-1 down, with a double fault bringing up a break point for Ostapenko. The Briton saved that, and the two that followed, to keep herself within touch but it did not spark another dramatic turnaround.
Ostapenko’s level had raised, with 15 winners to go with just four unforced errors in the second set, and she levelled the match up on the Kartal serve after more brutal hitting from the back of the court.
Kartal bucked the trend and broke in the opening game of the third set, Ostapenko netting a seemingly simple overheard to gift a break point that was converted.
Three more came for Kartal in Ostapenko’s next service game and she needed only one, the double break coming via a double fault. A routine hold followed and Kartal was 4-0 up.
Kartal was on the charge and brought up two more break points with a stunning backhand pass, with Ostapenko sending a routine forehand long to leave herself facing the prospect of a final-set bagel.
She avoided that by getting one of the three breaks back but it only briefly delayed Kartal’s progress, as the Briton served it out at the second time of asking with a hold to love.
