In temperatures which reached 41 degrees centigrade on Centre Court, Andy Murray needed more than two hours to get through his first test at the All England Club in 2015 as he began his quest to reclaim the Wimbledon title with a 6-4, 7-6(3), 6-4 victory over Mikhail Kukushkin on Tuesday .
The world No.3 matched Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal - both of whom lurk in his half of the draw - by not dropping a set but the match tested him and was nowhere near as straight forward as some predicted against an opponent ranked down at No.59. Here are five takeaways from the match:
Mentality: Coming into Wimbledon, Murray had looked, on the whole, relaxed. He has a new wife and a new coaching team, and has appeared settled on and off court. He is arguably in the form of his life, having enjoyed his best ever clay season. But the stress placed on Murray during Wimbledon is always likely to lead to a few blips. The Murray service was broken twice in the second set and there was some mumbling to himself during a changeover and a few heavy glances back to his box as he lost his focus, throwing away a 5-2 lead to trail 6-5.
Big moments: Kukushkin was within two points of levelling the match at one-set all. However, the Scot handled the pressure, as the best players so often do, and responded by reeling off seven straight points to force the tie-break and take a 3-0 lead in it. From there, he saw it out to go two sets up.
Confidence: Losing the second set from the position he was in was a hammer blow for Kukushkin. He had lost seven of his last eight matches coming into Tuesday's clash. The head of the underdog noticeably dropped when Murray won the tie-breaker and his ability to pick out winners abandoned him at precisely the wrong time. It was an admirable effort from the Kazakh, who made sure Murray did not enjoy an opening-round stroll and showed a few more than impressive forehands down the line.
Tactics: Coach Amelie Mauresmo has been keen to help Murray improve his variety of shots and it has been paying dividends. Not only that, but he is - mostly - choosing the right moments to mix things up. Murray wisely played things safe at set point in the opener, waiting for Kukushkin to make the mistake and getting his rewards. His deep position caused him a few problems as well as countering Kukushkin's strengths but, perhaps more worryingly, however, he struggled with his second serve, where he has made such gains in terms of speed recently.
Fitness: Years ago Murray may have faded on an unusually hot Centre Court, but he looked perfectly at home in the heat, the strength and conditioning work that is such a key part of his training paying dividends. Kukushkin battled valiantly but eventually could no longer keep up. He came into the match giving away 12kg in weight to Murray, as well as three inches in height, and ultimately the difference in fitness told.