Rafael Nadal helped to bring a smile back to the crestfallen face of Spanish sport after making a bright start at Wimbledon.
A 6-3 6-3 6-2 victory over Israel's Dudi Sela, a player with an attractive backhand but lacking the tools to really threaten, was a solid opening to Nadal's campaign.
Hopes that his country had of World Cup glory were shattered by Russia in a gripping penalty shoot-out on Sunday in Moscow.
But Nadal has already given Spain plenty to be proud of this summer with an 11th French Open title last month, and the 32-year-old is aiming to justify his status as the world number one in London.
He said: "It's great to be out here at Wimbledon. I'm happy to be through.
"There's still room to improve but after a while without playing on grass it's very important to start with a straight victory.
"I think I went to the net a couple of times and when I had a chance on my forehand I think I took advantage.
"It's the first round and not easy. It's never easy but especially here on grass without playing a match before."
Novak Djokovic did his best to finish off his first-round match at Wimbledon in time for Court One fans to head off to watch England's World Cup clash with Colombia on Tuesday.
The Serbian just failed but a 6-3 6-1 6-2 defeat of American Tennys Sandgren was an impressive way to kick off his challenge for a fourth title at the All England Club.
Djokovic, 31, is seeded 12th here -- his lowest Wimbledon seeding -- but after a problematic 12 months since pulling out of last year's tournament with an elbow injury there are signs that the former world number one is coming back to form.
He was clinical against the 57th-ranked Sandgren who was making his Wimbledon debut and who had played only one Tour match on grass prior to arriving in London.
When he moved a double break ahead in the third set the end seemed imminent but Sandgren rescued one break to delay the inevitable before Djokovic finished with a flourish.
He broke again for a 5-2 lead and served out to love for his 59th Wimbledon match win -- moving him level with John McEnroe in fifth place on the all-time list.
"It was windy and it was one of those days you want to start well and get that first set under your belt and start to feel more comfortable," 12-times Grand Slam champion Djokovic said.
"I didn't want to give him an opportunity to come back to the match. I do feel good, it's quite refreshing and I'm looking forward to see how I progress in this tournament."
Bernard Tomic kick-started his campaign in far happier style than he finished up in London a year ago.
The controversial Australian saw off Poland's Hubert Hurkacz in straight sets, 6-4 6-2 7-6 (7/2), making the most of his lucky loser status to move into the second round.
Tomic admitted he was "bored" during his 2017 first round defeat to Mischa Zverev where he was fined £11,600 for feigning injury for a medical timeout purely to disrupt his opponent.
One year on however, and Tomic had a far less turbulent start to his Wimbledon fortnight.
Fifth seed Juan Martin Del Potro had precious few problems moving past Peter Gojowczyk and into the second round at Wimbledon.
Del Potro prevailed 6-3 6-4 6-3, in a routine victory over his German opponent.
Feliciano Lopez toasted appearing in a record 66th consecutive Grand Slam by easing past Federico Delbonis 6-3 6-4 6-2.
Spaniard Lopez has now moved past Roger Federer's previous record of 65 consecutive Grand Slam appearances, and wasted little time hitting form in south west London.
The weight of expectation sat lightly on the shoulders of Kyle Edmund as he breezed into the second round with victory over Australian Alex Bolt.
The British No.1 advances...@kyle8edmund notches his second-ever #Wimbledon win with a 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 victory against Alex Bolt pic.twitter.com/Pt8iLzR0BL
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 3, 2018
Edmund would have been British number one even if Andy Murray had played but the Scot's withdrawal focused the zoom lenses on the 23-year-old, who is seeded here for the first time.
Edmund has an aura these days and it did not take long for the first gasp at his mighty forehand to be heard.
The third set was much more competitive than the first two but it was the home hope who won it to complete a 6-2 6-3 7-5 victory on a breezy Court One.
Nick Kyrgios set a new personal record of 41 aces as he dispatched Denis Istomin in four sets to reach the second round.
The flamboyant Australian star prevailed 7-6 (7/3) 7-6 (7/4) 6-7 (5/7) 6-3, recovering from dropping the third set to storm through in south west London.
The 15th seed had precious few problems moving past Uzbekistan's Istomin, other than his customary lapses in concentration.
Seventh seed Dominic Thiem retired from his first-round clash with Marcos Baghdatis.
The French Open finalist was trailing the Cypriot 6-4 7-5 2-0 when he called it a day in south-west London.
More to follow...
