It was always asking a lot for there to be a repeat of the heroics of the opening day at Wimbledon but thanks to Jack Draper, Dan Evans and Jack Pinnington Jones, the world No 281, Britain has 10 players through to the second round, the joint-best tally since 12 won through in 1976. What’s more, the total of seven British men into round two is the best at any grand slam event since Wimbledon 1997.
Another searingly hot day began with a check through the history books to find out the highest number of British first-round winners in the Open era, which was 13, in 1968. That always looked out of reach but Pinnington Jones’s brilliant 7-6 (4), 6-3, 7-5 win over Tomás Martín Etcheverry, the world No 53 from Argentina, took the tally into double figures.
Yet another product of Texas Christian University, where Cameron Norrie and Jacob Fearnley studied, Pinnington Jones played stunning tennis on his Wimbledon debut, winning five straight games from 5-2 down in the third set for victory.
Evans saw off another British player in Jay Clarke, a 6-1, 7-5, 6-2 win setting up a clash with Novak Djokovic, the seven-time champion. “I’ve got a lot of respect for Novak, he’s a great champion,” Evans said. “He’s done pretty much everything in the game. But it’s also my chance to win the match.
“I have to be competitive, I have to play my game, I have to be myself. I can’t go into my shell and have too much respect. I’m looking forward to it.”
Of the six British players to lose, only Jodie Burrage was truly gutted by her performance, an ankle injury – picked up, she said, in an accident by the media centre on Friday – hampering her in a 6-3, 6-1 defeat against Caty McNally, of the US. Breaking her bracelet when she banged her racket into her left hand did not help her mood. “At least it wasn’t the expensive stuff but yeah, that was tough,” she said, forcing a smile. “It’s completely done. I’ve got another one at home, so you’ll see that one in the next few days.”
George Loffhagen and Fran Jones also won sets but could not convert them into victories, while Johannus Monday was outplayed, not surprisingly, by the No 13 seed, Tommy Paul. “It was a very difficult match,” said the 6ft 6in Monday. “I felt a lot of pressure. I just tried to savour the moment.”
Heather Watson, appearing at Wimbledon for the 15th time, went down 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 to the No 23 seed, Clara Tauson, a clear missed opportunity. “I let that slip through my fingers,” she said.
