‘The right direction’: Britain celebrates best Wimbledon first round since 1984

A piece of history has been made at Wimbledon as 10 British players stepped out in the second round for the first time since 1984.

Harriet Dart, 25, defeated Spain’s Rebeka Masarova in straight sets as the crowd roared and her mother watched on, while British men’s No 1 Cameron Norrie, 26, was also triumphant on Wednesday, beating Spain’s Jaume Munar and reaching the third round.

But their victories were followed by disappointment for the US Open Champion Emma Raducanu, 19, and wildcard Ryan Peniston – who both crashed out of their second-round matches.

The British women’s No 1 lost in straight sets to France’s Caroline Garcia, 28, the world No 55. She charmed fans last year as she reached the fourth round of Wimbledon weeks after finishing her A-levels, and two months later she won the US Open without dropping a set.

Despite her loss, tennis fans continued to speak of their pride in the British players. The two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray, 35, and Heather Watson are still in with a chance of reaching the third round.

It comes after six Britons triumphed in their matches on Tuesday – the most to have ever won on a given day. Watson, who broke down in tears after defeating Germany’s Tamara Korpatsch, was among those who progressed to Wednesday’s stage, along with Jack Draper, who beat Belgian Zizou Bergs; Liam Broady, who got the better of Lukáš Klein after five sets; Katie Boulter, who triumphed over France’s Clara Burel; and wildcard Alastair Gray, who pulled off a remarkable win against former Wimbledon boys’ singles champion Tseng Chun-hsin. Peniston, who endured cancer at the age of one, was also victorious but was defeated by the USA’s Steve Johnson on Wednesday.

Leicester-born Boulter, 25, told reporters