Another day, another milestone reached for Novak Djokovic as he racked up Grand Slam victory number 350 by dispatching Australia's Jordan Thompson at Wimbledon on Wednesday.
The defending champion was given a thorough workout by Thompson but always looked in control at the crucial moments as he won 6-3 7-6 (4) 7-5 to move into the third round.
He joins Roger Federer and Serena Williams as the only players to have reached 350 wins at the Slams, but the 36-year-old has his eyes firmly fixed on higher goals.
Elsewhere in the men's draw, No. 3 seed Daniil Medvedev completed his rain-delayed first-round match with a straight-sets win over British wild card Arthur Fery, while American Frances Tiafoe also advanced in straight sets against Wu Yibing.
Playing with his usual clinical accuracy, Djokovic eventually subdued Thompson, who offered up something rare at Wimbledon these days -- serve-and-volley tennis.
It certainly kept Djokovic honest but the second-seeded Serb, bidding to win a record-equaling eighth Wimbledon and fifth in a row, always looked in control.
Thompson, ranked 70, was within two points of leveling the match at the sharp end of the second set but once Djokovic came through the tiebreak with a couple of timely aces thrown in, there was really likely to be only one outcome.
That said, Thompson, given loud backing by the Centre Court crowd desperate to see a contest, refused to slink away.
But serving at 5-6 in the third set the Australian could not keep Djokovic at bay and he netted a volley to end the contest.
"He was a bit unlucky in the second set. He had some chances but yeah, he played a great match and deserves a big round of applause for sure," Djokovic said.
Up next is either Swiss veteran Stan Wawrinka, who he famously lost to in the French Open final eight years ago, or Argentina's 29th seed Tomas Etcheverry.
Russia's Medvedev fought off the spirited efforts of Fery with a 7-5 6-4 6-3 victory over the 20-year-old wild card as he starts his latest attempt for a serious challenge at Wimbledon.
Medvedev, the 2021 US Open champion, world No. 1 in 2022 and winner of five tournaments this year, has only once reached the fourth round, though he missed last year's tournament due to the ban on Russian players.
Fery, making his Tour-level debut, knocked him out of his stride for a while with a sustained serve-and-volley approach, but a rain break at 5-5 in the first set changed the dynamic and Medvedev quickly wrapped up the opener.
It was not the procession many expected after that, though, with Fery breaking to love early in the second set as Medvedev, 27, struggled for consistency. His serve remained a powerful weapon, however, and enabled him to avoid further scares.
Tiafoe kicked off his bid for a first Grand Slam title by sealing a 7-6 (4) 6-3 6-4 win over Chinese debutant Wu in a rain-interrupted first-round clash.
Tiafoe, seeking to become the first American man to win the trophy since Pete Sampras bagged his seventh title at the grass-court major in 2000, recovered after dropping his serve early in the first set to level at 2-2 before rain halted play.
The players returned but were back inside two games later, and when play resumed again, it was Tiafoe, 25, who took charge of the tight opening set in the tiebreak and closed it out with a powerful serve.
"I love playing on grass and I have high hopes here for Wimbledon," said Tiafoe, who warmed up for Wimbledon by winning the Stuttgart grass-court title.
"I definitely didn't come along for a vacation. I want to do real damage here and hopefully be here two Sundays from now."
Wu, making his Wimbledon debut and his fourth appearance at a Grand Slam, took a medical timeout early in the second set and had his pulse checked but resumed following a lengthy off-court evaluation.
The world No. 62 did not seem too badly affected by the unspecified issue, but Tiafoe shifted gears to double his lead in the match. After freely trading breaks in the third, he closed out the victory with a solid service game.
"Obviously, he's a high-quality player. It's tough, he wasn't feeling well," Tiafoe added. "I was happy he felt all right and he was able to finish the match and played a high level. I thought the last two sets was super high level."
"I'm a really relaxed guy, but I do like finishing a tennis match. I was happy how I handled it."
Tiafoe, the 10 seed, reached the fourth round last year and will face Dominic Stricker next after the Swiss qualifier beat Australian Alexei Popyrin 3-6 6-3 6-2 4-6 7-5.
Taylor Fritz, a quarterfinalist last year, also booked a spot in the second round against Mikael Ymer after a 6-4, 2-6, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 win over Yannick Hanfmann.
That match was suspended Monday because of darkness and could not resume on a rainy Tuesday with Fritz up 3-2 in the decider.
"It's great. I'm going to have to play tomorrow. It rained all day yesterday and off and on today, so I really just wanted to get on court and play," Fritz said.
"I'm glad I can just focus on the next match."
The world No. 9, along with Tiafoe, is looking to become the first American men's Grand Slam champion since Andy Roddick won the U.S. Open in 2003.
Fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas needed almost four hours and five sets over two days to subdue former world No. 3 Dominic Thiem of Austria, as he won 3-6 7-6 (1) 6-2 6-7 (5) 7-6 (10-8) on Wednesday to move into the Wimbledon second round.
The 24-year-old Greek, chasing a maiden Grand Slam title, will next play two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray.
Holger Rune sailed through to the second round of Wimbledon for the first time with a 7-6 (4) 6-3 6-2 victory over British wild card George Loffhagen in a rain-delayed match on Wednesday.
The sixth seed became the first Dane to win a match at the All England Club since Kenneth Carlsen in 2004 when he completed victory in a clash that began on Tuesday morning but was suspended because of the weather.
"It means a lot. ... It's cool to come back with good memories, [and I] hope to bring better memories than last year," Rune, who lost in the first round in 2022, said during a postmatch interview.
Rune will face Italy's Matteo Arnaldi or Spain's Roberto Carballes Baena in the second round.
Jannik Sinner coasted into Wimbledon's third round with a 7-5 6-1 6-2 victory over Diego Schwartzman on Wednesday, as the eighth seed claimed a second win over an Argentinian player in as many matches.
The 21-year-old Sinner knocked out Schwartzman's fellow countryman Francisco Cerundolo in first-round play.
Ben Shelton, Tommy Paul, Christopher Eubanks and Marcos Giron made it an encouraging day for American men as they all reached the second round.
But 22nd seed Sebastian Korda failed to join them as he was beaten 7-6(7) 4-6 6-2 6-3 by big-serving Czech Jiri Vesely.
Information from Reuters was used in this report