GB’s Burrage and Broady win Wimbledon openers

An emotional Jodie Burrage reached the Wimbledon second round for the first time and fellow Briton Liam Broady also advanced on day one.

“It hasn’t been easy, I’ve had a lot of injuries and it’s been my biggest battle,” she said. “I’ve just been waiting for my run to happen and hopefully this is the start of it.”

Broady beat France’s Constant Lestienne 6-3 6-1 7-5 but Harriet Dart lost.

Britain’s Katie Swan is also in action on day one in the women’s draw, with Dan Evans and Jan Choinski in the men’s.

Following a rain delay at the All England Club, conditions were tricky with the wind swirling around the courts and world number 108 Burrage coped well with the challenging circumstances.

Having prepared well on grass with a run to the final of the Nottingham Open, Burrage got off to a flying start, dropping just one game on her way to wrapping up the first set in just 22 minutes.

McNally, ranked number 67 in the world and also going for a maiden appearance in the second round of Wimbledon, came back in the second but Burrage stood her ground to secure the victory on her sixth match point.

Burrage, who had suffered first-round exits in the previous two years at SW19, told spectators “that meant a lot” after she nailed a forehand to seal the win.

Minutes later, Broady became the second Briton to reach the second round with an impressive victory over world number 74 Lestienne.

The 29-year-old will hope to improve on his run to the third round of last year’s tournament but could face a tough challenge with Norwegian French Open finalist Casper Ruud his next opponent.

Dart struggles in ‘worst match of season’

Earlier on Monday, Dart’s Wimbledon campaign ended with defeat as France’s Diane Parry, ranked 14 places above her opponent, came from behind to edge the home player 6-7 (4-7) 6-0 6-4.

An expectant crowd filled court 12 to watch Dart, who had arrived at the All England Club on the back of a good build-up on grass with quarter-final appearances in Nottingham and Birmingham.

Dart quickly fell a double break down but found some rhythm – and a forehand hammered down the line on break point – to win two games in a row and spark the partisan crowd into life.

She forced a tie-break and edged an impressive first-set win but the Briton cut a more frustrated figure in the second set, airing her frustrations towards her family and coaches in the crowd and shaking her head at the scoreboard after being penalised for a foot fault.

But this time she struggled to regroup, failing to win a game and struggling with her serve before Parry, who reached the third round at Wimbledon last year, took charge.

“I’ve had a really good grass-court season. It’s just disappointing that my worst match of the season came here,” Dart said.