Rafael Nadal became the highest-profile casualty of this year's Wimbledon after slumping to a 7-5 3-6 6-4 6-4 defeat to dreadlocked German Dustin Brown.
Tenth seed Nadal, the 2008 and 2010 champion in SW19, lost his only previous encounter with Brown on grass in Halle last year and he fell to the flamboyant world number 102 once again.
Brown's unconventional style included shots that will not be found in any tennis coaching manual, but it made for a thrilling spectacle against the out-of-form Spaniard.
"I've never been on Centre Court before. I thought I'd freak out a bit, but I felt very familiar here," Brown said.
"Being on grass and having beaten him before made me feel more comfortable. I had nothing to lose, which made it easier for me. I went for my shots. My plan was to come here and play good tennis.
"You have to play your A-game when you're playing against him. I'm very lucky in that I've played him twice on my favourite surface. I wouldn't want to play him on any other surface."
Centre Court spectators were torn between cheering the ever-popular Nadal, an enduring favourite, or the showman Brown who revealed a large tattoo of reggae singer Dennis Brown on his torso when changing his top.
Instead, the crowd chose to savour a roller-coaster second-round tie that produced drama throughout, even when Brown was building momentum in the final two sets.
Nadal, supported from the stands by compatriot and actor Antonio Banderas, broke serve early but by in the sixth game Brown was back on equal terms thanks to a series of winners that ended with a forehand smash.
The rivals were separated in the 12th when Nadal's serve was exploited once again, Brown delivering on the second of two set points after smart work at the net outmanoeuvred the Spaniard.
A pumped-up Brown roared as he produced an ace, but he was broken in a hard-fought third game of the second set.
Nadal was repeatedly forced to dig deep, but by the time the ninth game had arrived he was in full flow with successive points from a forehand and then backhand that hugged the line.
Brown made an odd attempt at improvisation when he squatted down to return with the full face of his racket, but his willingness to attack the net in the same game enabled him to break and he clinched the third set.
Nadal continued to wilt as the fourth set began and shortly after Brown sent a brilliant two-handed backhand down the line, he was broken again.
Two match points were saved in the ninth game but a further two arrived in the 10th and Brown completed the biggest win of his career with an ace.
Roger Federer thrilled Centre Court with an outrageous lob as he moved effortlessly into the third round with a 6-4 6-2 6-2 victory over American Sam Querrey.
The highlight of a one-sided match was the audacious shot executed by the Swiss from behind his own baseline, slipping the racket between his legs to direct the ball over the head of the stranded Querrey.
"It's rare that those shots happen so when they do you have to pull them off. If you don't win the point you do look a little bit silly," Federer said.
"It was the perfect shot, I even had a little bit of time which allowed me to get into position. It just felt like I had time."
Federer remains on course to become the first man in history to win eight Wimbledon titles, but far tougher challenges await in the draw than outclassed world number 36 Querrey.
"I'm very happy with the way I've played in the first two matches so far," Federer said.
"I've been playing well this season and have had a good run. There's a little relief that I'm actually playing well here at Wimbledon as well.
Key stat: Roger Federer’s won 19 of 22 points on his forays to the net
"I had to work hard, Sam's a good player. The first set was tough and he was serving well and I didn't know how long he'd keep that up for."
It took until the ninth game of the first set for Federer to break, although having raced into a 40-0 lead he then had to set up a fourth break point that he converted with a pinpoint backhand.
A similar shot did for Querrey as the second set got underway, although this time Federer dispatched the ball on the volley, making a classy stroke appear simple.
When Querrey sent a drop-shot wide, Federer had the break and in the seventh he struck again courtesy of his audacious lob, a lucky forehand that clipped the net and a wayward serve by his opponent.
Once again Federer pounced in the opening game of a set, breaking Querrey with ease to all but end the American's hopes of completing a first victory over a top-10 opponent at a Grand Slam, and the end arrived quickly.
Andy Murray hardly broke sweat as the British number one strolled into the third round with a straight-sets victory over Robin Haase.
Murray was left unsatisfied by his battling first-round win over Mikhail Kukushkin on Tuesday but this was a near-faultless performance from the Scot, who cruised through 6-1 6-1 6-4.
Italian 25th seed Andreas Seppi or Croatia's talented 18-year-old Borna Coric await in round three, as Murray continues his bid for a second title at the All England Club.
Dutchman Haase, ranked 78th in the world, pushed Murray to his physical limits in an exhausting battle at last year's US Open and took him to five sets at the same tournament in 2011.
There was little sign of a similar marathon unfolding early on, however, as Murray stamped his mark on the match with some brilliant shot-making in front of an enthralled home crowd.
A long forehand gave Murray an early break in the third game before an instinctive backhand pass and a beautifully placed lob secured a second break and a 4-1 lead.
Haase was simply unable to keep up, as another forehand long allowed Murray to seal the set with a third break in just 19 minutes.
Grass is a surface on which Haase is usually comfortable, but the 28-year-old seemed lost in the face of Murray's variety and speed of thought.
An instant break in the second set opened up a 3-0 lead, and while a temporary lapse in concentration offered Haase a chance to break back, he failed to capitalise, and Murray broke again to clinch the second set.
Outclassed for the best part of 50 minutes, Haase threw caution to the wind at the start of the third set, unleashing a thundering forehand winner, which was greeted with raptures of encouragement from his box.
Even a few British voices were urging Haase on and the more aggressive approach paid dividends during a short spell of parity.
For every winner from Haase, however, there was also an unforced error and Murray capitalised in the seventh game to claim another break.
Haase continued to blast away until the end but Murray was more than able to keep up as a thumping backhand of his own sealed a comfortable victory in one hour and 28 minutes.
Murray told the BBC: "It was a good match from start to finish for me and obviously getting the early lead helped.
"I was very happy with the way that I played. I felt there were some things I could have done better in the first round but my opponent, Kukushkin, was playing unbelievably aggressive and made it very difficult for me to impose myself in the match, whereas today I did that much better.
"I was able to come forward, I felt like I dictated more of the baseline rallies and had a good match."
Great Britain can boast two men in Wimbledon's third round for the first time since Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski in 2002 after James Ward blasted past Jiri Vesely in four sets.
British number three Ward surrendered 65 places in the world rankings to his opponent but produced an accomplished showing to brush past the 21-year-old Czech 6-2 7-6 (7/4) 3-6 6-3.
