Top seed Novak Djokovic moved through to the Wimbledon third round after overcoming Bobby Reynolds under the Centre Court roof.
Defeat for Reynolds made it the worst Wimbledon for American men since 1912, with none through to the last 32. Rain hampered play at the All England Club towards the end of the day, meaning the second-round clash was forced indoors.
Serbian Djokovic got off to a slow start against world number 156 Reynolds but came through a first set tie-break and never looked back.
The 26-year-old eventually won 7-6 (7/2) 6-3 6-1, thus avoiding an early shock exit and joining Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal on the road home.
Djokovic said: “It is a bit strange that so many top players lost in one or two days.
“But it is a grand slam and the low-ranked players have an extra motivation to perform their best. They have nothing to lose when they come out and play on the big stage, on the Centre Court.
“I needed to be extra careful today, obviously. With the roof closed, it was a bit different. I needed some time to adjust to the conditions.
“It was a bit slower than the first match but I played well in the second and third and I am glad I am through.”
Argentinian Juan Martin del Potro, one of those tipped to challenge Djokovic for the Wimbledon crown, made light work of Canada’s Jesse Levine before rain brought play to a halt at Wimbledon.
The former US Open champion took just under two hours to dismantle his opponent, running out a 6-2 7-6 (9/7) 6-3 winner in the first match on Centre Court.
Ninth seed Richard Gasquet set up what promises to be an entertaining contest against Bernard Tomic.
Tomic produced a performance high in maturity to beat James Blake.
Australian Tomic’s participation was clouded in doubt after a hamstring injury saw him abandon his doubles campaign on Wednesday but there was nothing wrong with his movement as he got past the former world number four 6-3 6-4 7-5.
Such clinical displays have not always been easy to come by for the fiery Tomic, whose time at the All England Club so far has been dominated by the absence of his father and coach, John Tomic.
John Tomic is the subject of an ATP ban as he awaits a court case following allegations he assaulted his son’s former hitting partner he denies wrongdoing and is not allowed on the Wimbledon grounds.
However, his 20-year-old son Bernard got the job done fine on his own.
Backed by the Australian “Fanatics” whose hands he shook individually at the end he once spurned the chance to serve for the match but broke straight back and did not need a second invitation to win.
There was an upset on Court 18 as big-serving 17th seed Milos Raonic lost to world number 64 Igor Sijsling.
The man with the golden serve could not power his way into the third round as Raonic missed the chance to make a move deep into the tournament.
The Canadian has long been spoken about as a possible top-five player largely down to his metronomic first shot and with the men’s draw opening up, his match with Igor Sijsling represented a reasonable chance to progress.
However, despite sending down 22 aces, Raonic was undone by the Dutchman on Court 18, losing his way and going down 7-5 6-4 7-6 (7/4).
Consequently, the 21-year-old’s frustrating run in grand slam competition continues.
This was his third second-round exit in succession at Wimbledon, while his best results have been one-off fourth-round appearances on the hard courts of the Australian and US Opens.
Although he sent 48 winners over the net, he also made 24 mistakes, allowing the 64th-ranked Sijsling, in just his second Wimbledon, to progress.
Dutchman Sijsling goes on to play Ivan Dodig, who beat Denis Kudla, while Japan’s Kei Nishikori advanced after beating Leonardo Mayer 7-6 (7/5) 6-4 6-1.
Seventh seed Tomas Berdych progressed without dropping a set against Germany’s Daniel Brands and next plays South Africa’s Kevin Anderson.
Rain started falling intermittently at 3.30pm but organisers did not stop play until 5pm.
Grigor Dimitrov, watched by girlfriend Maria Sharapova, was 9-8 behind against Grega Zemlja in the final set of their contest when Court Three became unplayable.
Fourth seed David Ferrer did not get a chance to start his clash with fellow Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut.
Before the showers there were two more injury withdrawals to add to the record-breaking seven from Wednesday as France’s Paul-Henri Mathieu handed Feliciano Lopez a walkover, while his compatriot Michael Llodra pulled out earlier in the day during his contest against Andreas Seppi, after dropping the first set.