Wimbledon: British hope Tim Henman needed two days to make it to the second round of Wimbledon, outlasting Carlos Moya on Tuesday in a riveting conclusion in which he won the fifth set 13-11 on his seventh match point.

A double-fault by Moya on the third match point of the 24th game of the set gave Henman a 6-3, 1-6, 5-7, 6-2, 13-11 win that enthralled the Centre Court crowd at the All England Club.

Henman, a four-time semi-finalist playing in his 14th Wimbledon, had been tied 5-5 with Moya in the fifth set when the first-round match was stopped because of darkness on Monday night. Henman missed four match points at 5-4.

“It would have been pretty sweet to finish it off last night,” he said. “Perhaps this scenario is even better.”

Henman, who has a tradition of pulling out five-set victories at Wimbledon, has lost in the second round the last two years. The last British man to win the title at Wimbledon was Fred Perry in 1936, but Henman has been closest to ending that streak in recent years.

“This place is so special to me and I’ve had so many experiences over the years I always believe that good things are going to happen,” he said.

The two men returned to Centre Court after Amelie Mauresmo had opened the defence of her women’s title on Tuesday by beating Jamea Jackson of the US 6-1, 6-3 in just more than an hour.

Second-seeded Rafael Nadal, coming off his third straight French Open title on clay, looked sharp in his return to the Centre Court grass, beating Mardy Fish 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3. Nadal produced an ace down the middle on match point.

The Spaniard had 40 winners to 15 errors, broke Fish twice and saved the only two break points he faced. Nadal, who lost to Roger Federer in last year’s final, is aiming to become the first man since Bjorn Borg in 1987-80 to win the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year.

2002 winner Lleyton Hewitt, the only champion in the men’s field other than four-time winner Roger Federer, also advanced to the second round. The 16th-seeded Australian beat British wild card Richard Bloomfield 7-5, 6-3, 7-5.

Second-seeded Maria Sharapova, third seed Jelena Jankovic, No. 8 Anna Chakvetadze were among the women who reached the second round. Sharapova defeated Yung-Jan Chan of Taiwan 6-1, 7-5.

Tenth seed Daniela Hantuchova also progressed, dishing out a harsh lesson to Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, at 15 the youngest player in either singles draw. The Slovak won 6-0, 6-1.

James Blake, the men’s ninth seed, joined compatriot Andy Roddick in the second round with an impressive 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 victory over French Open quarter finalist Igor Andreev.

However, there were several American casualties in the men’s draw, with Robert Kendrick, Kevin Kim, Vince Spadea and Bobby Reynolds all joining Fish out the exit door.

Among Asians, Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi became the first Pakistani player in more than three decades to reach the second round.

Qureshi sneaked past Briton Lee Childs 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 to follow in the footsteps of Haroon Rahim. Rahim advanced to the last 64 in 1975 and 1976. “I was very loose and relaxed on court,” Qureshi said. “I don’t think Lee expected me to come out today so pumped up and fired up.”

Qureshi next faces Russia’s former world number one Marat Safin, who eased past South African Rik de Voest to stay on course for a juicy third-round clash with Federer.

Safin, however, will need to do some homework before he steps out for his second round match because he knows nothing about his opponent.

“I don’t even know how he looks unfortunately,” Safin said on Tuesday following his 7-6, 6-4, 7-5 win. “I guess he’s playing pretty good tennis if he qualified, he won a three-set match. So I guess tough opponent second round. We’ll see how it’s going to be.”

Henman and Moya both pulled out some brilliant shots under pressure — aces, running passing shots and stab volleys — to keep the match going.

DAY I RESULTS

Men’s singles, Round I — David Ferrer (17, Esp) bt Sergio Roitman (Arg) 6-3, 6-3, 6-1; Paul-Henri Mathieu (Fra) bt Radek Stepanek (Cze) 7-6(4), 6-2, 6-2 ; Janko Tipsarevic (Ser) bt Alexander Peya (Aut) 4-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 ; Danai Udomchoke (Tha) bt Carlos Berlocq (Arg) 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 ; Tomas Zib (Cze) bt Diego Hartfield (Arg) 4-6, 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 ; Michael Berrer (Ger) bt Albert Montanes (Esp) 6-3, 6-3, 6-2; Florent Serra (Fra) bt Philipp Kohlschreiber (27, Ger) 7-6(4), 6-4, 6-4; Fernando Gonzalez (5, Chi) bt Robby Ginepri (US) 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-2, 6-2 ; Tommy Haas (13, Ger) bt Zack Fleishman (US) 6-3, 6-4,6-2; Andy Roddick (3, US) bt Justin Gimelstob (US) 6-1, 7-5, 7-6 (3); Alejandro Falla (Col) bt Sam Querrey (US) 7-6(5), 6-1, 6-4; Roger Federer (1, Sui) bt Teimuraz Gabashvili (Rus) 6-3, 6-2, 6-4

Women’s singles, Round I — Marion Bartoli (18, Fra) bt Flavia Pennetta (Ita) 6-3, 6-1; Vera Dushevina (Rus) bt Timea Bacsinszky (Sui) 6-4, 7-5; Serena Williams (7, US) bt Lourdes Dominguez Lino (Esp) 7-5, 6-0; Justine Henin (1, Bel) bt Jorgelina Cravero (Arg) 6-3, 6-0; Alicia Molik (Aus) bt Anastasia Rodionova (Rus) 6-3, 6-2; Patty Schnyder (15, Sui) bt Camille Pin (Fra) 6-1, 4-6, 8-6; Sybille Bammer (20, Aut) bt Varvara Lepchenko (Uzb) 6-2, 6-2; Martina Hingis (9, Sui) bt Naomi Cavaday (Gbr) 6-7(1), 7-5, 6-0; Shahar Peer (16, Isr) bt Tamarine Tanasugarn (Tha) 7-5, 6-2; Aiko Nakamura (Jpn) bt Martina Sucha (Slo) 7-5, 6-2; Laura Granville (US) bt Aleksandra Wozniak (Can) 7-6(4), 6-3; Lucie Safarova (25, Cze) bt Zuzana Ondraskova (Cze) 7-5, 6-2; Roberta Vinci (Ita) bt Ashley Harkleroad (US) 6-2, 6-1; Kaia Kanepi (Est) bt Tatjana Malek (Ger) 6-1, 6-4.