A confident-looking Jack Draper moved into the second round at Wimbledon after his opponent, Sebastian Baez, retired with an injury while facing a likely defeat on Tuesday.
The world No. 4's physicality looked to be proving too much for the Argentine to handle, with Draper leading 6-2, 6-2, 2-1, before Baez succumbed to an injury he suffered at the beginning of the second set.
Draper, who has never progressed past the second round at his home Grand Slam, got off to the perfect start as he broke Baez in the first game of the match amid intense summer heat in southwest London.
He took full control with another break in the fifth game, racing into a set lead after little more than 20 minutes of play on No. 1 Court.
There was concern when Baez slipped on the court and fell awkwardly while trying to change direction at the start of the second set, but the Argentine felt able to continue after taking a few moments to compose himself.
But with Draper cruising along with a 3-1 lead, Baez received treatment on his right knee during a five-minute break before being cleared to continue.
Left-hander Draper, the highest British seed at Wimbledon since Andy Murray returned as defending champion in 2017, will need all his mental and physical reserves to navigate the pitfalls of Wimbledon under an intense spotlight.
He has been saddled with trying to fill the void left by the retirement of twice champion Murray, and avoiding drawn-out early round matches, the like of which Murray sometimes inflicted on his legion of fans, is no bad thing.
Although, speaking on court, Draper said he would have perhaps preferred a slightly tougher test.
"I wanted to play a bit longer in all honesty. It is no way to win like that and I wish Sebastian the best in his recovery of course," Draper, who has rocketed up the rankings after reaching the U.S. Open semifinal last year, said.
Draper will have a much sterner test in the next round when he faces big-serving Croatian Marin Cilic, a player who won the U.S. Open and also reached a Wimbledon final.
He is also seeded to meet seven-times champion Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals.
Asked how he is coping with the weight of expectation on his broad shoulders, Draper said: "I don't think about it until people mention it every five minutes! I just think about what I can control and play the best tennis I can.
"I have to face whoever is in front of me, I can't be thinking about five matches ahead. I focus on whoever is up next. Everyone who is in this draw is in on their own merit, they can all play incredible tennis."
Evans, Pinnington Jones progress
Earlier on Tuesday, former British No. 1 Dan Evans earned his first victory at Wimbledon in four years as he got the better of compatriot Jay Clarke.
Evans' 6-1, 7-5, 6-2 win sets up a likely second-round clash with Novak Djokovic, should the Serb beat Alexandre Muller.
The 35-year-old, now ranked No. 170, needed a wildcard to play in SW19 but showed good form in outclassing Clarke inside two hours and 14 minutes on Court 12.
Evans' delight was clear to see as he celebrated on the court after securing the win.
"It was amazing," Evans told the BBC. "Really unfortunate to have to play Jay, two lads from the Midlands, I've known him since he was really small. I'm just delighted to come through it."
At the other end of the experience scale, British 22-year-old Jack Pinnington Jones scored an impressive victory on his Wimbledon debut with a straight-sets win over world No. 53 Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
Pinnington Jones, ranked a career-high 281 in the world, won the last five games to complete a 7-6 (4), 6-3, 7-5 win on Court 17.
The wildcard will now face 22nd seed Flavio Cobolli in the second round.
Watson, Burrage fall at first hurdle
Heather Watson saw her Wimbledon campaign end in the opening round as she fell to Denmark's Clara Tauson.
Watson raised hopes that she might join the seven Brits who progressed on Monday as she took the opening set against the 23rd seed, but Tauson battled back to win 2-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Jodie Burrage was also knocked out after suffering a 6-3, 6-1 loss at the ands of American Caty McNally.
Johannus Monday was unable to pull off what would have been a shock win against world No. 13 Tommy Paul as he succumbed to a straight-sets defeat. George Loffhagen was beaten by Pedro Martinez on Court 16.
Information from Reuters was used in this report.