Andy Murray's opening victory at Wimbledon provided a sense of relief which ran through all sections of the British media.
"Murray leads Famous Five," said the Daily Express in a back page tribute not only to Murray for his Centre Court win over first opponent Mikhail Kukushkin but also to the other British winners Aljaz Bedene and James Ward, who joined Liam Broady, a winner from Monday. Heather Watson saved three match points before reaching the last 64 and is now the only British player in the women's draw.
The heat of the day draped every word written about Tuesday's events at Wimbledon.
Matthew Dunn in the Daily Express reported that Murray won in 41C heat on Centre Court.
"I could obviously have finished the second set a little bit better and served well at that period," said Murray. "But apart from the 15-20 minute period I was quite comfortable in the rest of the match."
In The Guardian, Kevin Mitchell said that Murray ought to be concerned,but not to the point of despair,after a skittish opening to his Wimbledon campaign.
"Murray, who has been in splendid form all summer, on clay and grass,spent almost twice as long on court as Roger Federer did in his far easier win over the Bosnian Damir Dzumhur," Mitchell wrote.
"While Murray expressed no interest in the Federer match,the comparison is relevant in terms of where each of them is placed after the first round of a tournament that may bring them together in the semi-final."
Barney Ronay also commented in The Guardian: "Murray will need to improve for the later rounds but he will be encouraged by his best moments here.
"Wimbledon, meanwhile, has the chance to enjoy him this time around: not so much a great British champion as a wonderfully engaging tennis player and a gift to this venerable old domestic powerhouse of a tournament."
Heather Watson now carries a lone flag for the British women after completing a 1-6, 6-3, 8-6 over France's Caroline Garcia, a match that was postponed by bad light at one set all on Monday.
"Today it was one set and that was it," Watson said. "I needed to make sure I had a good start.
"That's why I came out on to the court sweating, very motivated. I had a long warm up. Hopefully the aggression is controlled. I don't even feel it when I hit my thigh - but there's always a bit of a red mark. It's the heat of the moment.I don't realise I have done it."
Meanwhile the high achieving duopoly of Federer and Rafael Nadal had their openings wins, leaving Oliver Brown to comment in the Daily Telegraph: "It has been Wimbledon's defining dynamic for so long that it is difficult to see how the men's draw can possibly galvanise the same levels of interest without them. That day is coming,with Federer approaching his 34th birthday and Nadal surviving on brittle knees, sooner than we might care to acknowledge."
At least Federer, lapsing uncharacteristically into elder statesman mode, was optimistic that life would go on.
"It's going to be a bit of a change," said the seven-time Wimbledon champion.
"Everything has to be somewhat rebuilt to some extent. It depends when Rafa goes out, when I go out. That might still be five or six years away. Who knows what it's going to be like?"
