Alex de Minaur has enjoyed the perfect launch in his latest bid to reach a Grand Slam final with an encouraging win over Argentina's Roman Andres Burruchaga.
The Australian No.1 was stretched by an hour-long opening set but once he shook off his nerves, got his feet moving and found his groove, he raced to victory on Tuesday.
Winning 12 games out of 13 after the first set tiebreak, the 27-year-old earned a 7-6(5) 6-1 6-0 victory, wrapping up the final two sets in 52 minutes.
"A little bit of a nervy start," said the fifth seed. "Never easy starting an incredible tournament like Wimbledon, but as the match went on, I played better and better.
"I love being here. I really want to do well here. It's about getting started and I'm glad I got through that. I'm super-stoked to be in the next round.
"I love the grass. I love these courts. I am at my most dangerous when I am aggressive and it's up to me to be aggressive and try and dictate. Next time, hopefully I can do that from the start."
De Minaur suffered an early break, quickly finding himself 3-0 down against a resourceful opponent who belied the South American cliche of clay court-bred baselining.
It was 40 years and a day since Burruchaga's father, Jorge, scored the winning goal in the 1986 World Cup final, a 3-2 victory for Argentina over West Germany, and on his Wimbledon main-draw debut the son seemed to draw inspiration from history.
De Minaur scrapped his way to a tiebreak and, helped by a lucky net cord and Burruchaga double-faulting at 4-4, he managed to win it.
That released the nerves and De Minaur, seizing the initiative, suddenly ran away with the tie to book a second-round date with French southpaw Adrian Mannarino.
Ranked world No.40, the 38-year-old is a dangerous opponent on grass but De Minaur has a 5-1 win record against him.
De Minaur was one of two Australian men to progress to the second round.
James Duckworth overcame Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor 6-4 4-6 7-5 6-4 to record his first Wimbledon victory in five years.
They join Kimberly Birrell among the first-round victors, who overcame a second-set bagel to prevail against qualifier Alina Korneeva 6-3 0-6 6-2.
The Australian victories were also paired with heartbreak as Thanasi Kokkinakis and Talia Gibson were among those who bowed out valiantly at the All-England Club.
Kokkinakis almost pulled off another major heist, taking 10th seed Alexander Bublik to five sets. The South Australian fell 4-6 6-3 6-7(10) 6-3 6-4 in a match that lasted almost four hours.
Meanwhile, Gibson competed admirably for two-and-half hours yet was ultimately brought undone by 53 unforced errors against Marie Bouzkova.
The Czech, seeded No.21 after winning the recent Nottingham grasscourt title, prevailed 6-1 3-6 6-2 on Tuesday at SW19.
Aussies in action: Wimbledon
RESULTS – Day 2
Men’s singles, first round
[5] Alex de Minaur (AUS) d Roman Andres Burruchaga (ARG) 7-6(5) 6-1 6-0
James Duckworth (AUS) d Tallon Griekspoor (NED) 6-4 4-6 7-5 6-4
[10] Alexander Bublik (KAZ) d Thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS) 4-6 6-3 6-7(10) 6-3 6-4
[WC] Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) d [Q] Dane Sweeny (AUS) 7-6(4) 6-3 7-5
[13] Jiri Lehecka (CZE) d Alexei Popyrin (AUS) 6-4 6-2 6-4
Jesper de Jong (NED) d Rinky Hijikata (AUS) 7-6(4) 3-6 5-7 6-4 6-3
Women’s singles, first round
Kimberly Birrell (AUS) d [Q] Alina Korneeva 6-3 0-6 6-2
[Q] Mariam Bolkvadze (GEO) d Ajla Tomljanovic (AUS) 6-2 2-6 6-4
[21] Marie Bouzkova (CZE) d Talia Gibson (AUS) 6-1 3-6 6-2
You can watch Wimbledon on the channels of the Nine Network and Stan Sport.