Aryna Sabalenka booked her place in the third round at Wimbledon after a battling display against Marie Bouzkova on Centre Court.
Sabalenka, who has never reached the final in SW19, edged closer to realising that dream with a 7-6(7-4)6-4 victory in one hour and 35 minutes on Wednesday.
The top seed will have been wary of the unpredictability of the tournament so far, having seen French Open victor Coco Gauff dumped out by Dayana Yastremska 24 hours earlier.
And she was made to work for the opening set, but the Belarusian was able to edge her opponent in the tie-break before getting the better of her in the second.
A timely break in the fifth game was the breakthrough Sabalenka needed, and she sealed her passage to the next round with a powerful forehand following a short rally.
Gauff, along with third seed Jessica Pegula and fifth seed Qinwen Zheng, have already been eliminated, and Sabalenka joked that she was hoping for no more surprises.
“Honestly, it’s very sad to see so many top players lose in the first round. But you’ve got to focus on yourself,” Sabalenka said in her on-court interview.
“Of course, you’re going to know the overall picture, but you have to take it one step at a time. I hope it is no upsets anymore in this tournament, if you know what I mean!”