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Heather Watson, Aljaz Bedene and James Ward all made it British wins at Wimbledon

Heather Watson reacts while winning her first round match against Caroline Garcia at Wimbledon
Image: Heather Watson: Defeated Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia

Heather Watson pulled off her two-day comeback victory over French 32nd seed Caroline Garcia at Wimbledon, progressing 1-6 6-3 8-6 as she joined fellow Brits Aljaz Bedene and James Ward in the second round.

The British No 1 levelled the match at one set apiece when bad light stopped play on Monday night, and completed the job when the tie resumed in blistering sunshine on Tuesday afternoon to set up a second round meeting with Daniela Hantuchova.

Garcia and Watson had played singles just once before, the Briton coming out on top in Estoril three years ago and she dug deep to save three match points against the 21-year-old, who was once tipped by Andy Murray as a future world No 1, before emerging victorious,

"I was getting quite tired because she was pushing me wide," Watson said after her win. "I feel fit and healthy, but I think I need to work on being more aggressive."

The reward for victory over Slovakia's Hantuchova would be a potential clash with 20-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams.

Bedene and Ward win

Britain's Aljaz Bedene celebrates beating Radek Stepanek during their match at Wimbledon
Image: Aljaz Bedene: The British No 2 beat Radek Stepanek

Slovenia-born Bedene tasted his first Wimbledon victory after taking full British citizenship earlier this year, seeing off wily old Czech Radek Stepanek 7-5 1-6 4-6 6-3 6-4.

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And just minutes after the 25-year-old had booked a second-round clash with Viktor Troicki, Ward completed his 6-7 (4-7) 6-2 6-4 6-3 victory over a visibly-flagging Luca Vanni from Italy.

The 28-year-old Londoner seized his chance against world No 113 Vanni then, and will now face the winner of Jiri Vesey and Paolo Lorenzi in the second round.

Laura Robson reacts in her match against Evgeniya Rodina of Russia at Wimbledon
Image: Laura Robson: Beaten by Evgeniya Rodina

Laura Robson returned to Wimbledon, lacking match-fitness on her comeback from a long-term wrist problem, but despite a spirited performance, the former British No 1 went down to defeat against Russian Evgeniya Rodina 6-4 6-4.

British wildcard Kyle Edmund suffered a first round defeat against Alexandr Dolgopolov.

The 20-year-old, ranked 101 in the world, was overpowered by the Ukrainian after a competitive first set and departed with a 7-6 (7-4) 6-1 6-2 loss.

An abdominal injury had disrupted Edmund’s preparations for the tournament and he faced a tough opening encounter against Dolgopolov, who had recently defeated Rafael Nadal at the Aegon Championships.

Kyle Edmund
Image: Kyle Edmund (L): No match for Alexandr Dolgopolov

But Edmund did hold his own in the first set, breaking back to force a tie-break, which was edged by Dolgopolov.

The remainder of the match was far more one-sided with the world No 70 wrapping up the win in dominant fashion.

Brydan Klein, another wildcard, also failed to progress to the second round as he was beaten 6-3 6-2 6-2 by Andreas Seppi.

The 25-year-old, making his senior Wimbledon debut, could not contain the Italian 25th seed.

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