Andrey Rublev became the first men’s player to reach the second round at Wimbledon on Monday when he moved past Australian Max Purcell 6-3, 7-5, 6-4.

The seventh seed struck the ball with relentless power throughout the one-hour, 33-minute clash and battled hard in the second set, rallying from 2-5 in the second set. With his 32nd win of the season, Rublev maintained his perfect first-round record at Wimbledon.

“I am really happy to be back. You always want to win in straight sets, but it is never simple,” Rublev said. “I was 2-5 down in the second set and I was lucky to be able to come back because in my head I was already preparing for the third set. I hit a few good shots and I was able to come back and I played really well at the end of the second set. To play here with full stadiums at 11am, that is a special feeling.”

Rublev, whose best result at SW19 was a fourth-round run in 2021, will next meet Aslan Karatsev after the World No. 50 beat #NextGenATP Frenchman Luca Van Assche 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-2, 6-4. The 25-year-old Rublev arrived in London in strong form, having advanced to the title match in Halle last month.

[BREAK POINT]

Fourth seed Casper Ruud also advanced, defeating French qualifier Laurent Lokoli 6-1, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 in his first grass-court match of the season.

Ruud, whose best result at SW19 was a second-round appearance in 2022, struck 35 winners to advance after two hours and 51 minutes.

The Norwegian, who reached his third Slam final at Roland Garros last month, will next meet Liam Broady after the British wild card defeated Constant Lestienne 6-1, 6-3, 7-5 to reach the second round for the second consecutive year.