COUNT THE PEN-NIES
RYAN Peniston and Jack Draper led the Brit-pack charge as SIX home men reached round two for the first time since 2001.
Summer sensation Peniston and best pal Alastair Gray upset the rankings while Draper continued his brilliant Eastbourne form as all three earned their first Grand Slam wins in straight sets.
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And while 28th seed Dan Evans crashed out, Liam Broady came from a set down to join them in the last 64 for the best British Wimbledon start for more than 20 years.
Peniston, who beat Henri Laaksonen of Switzerland 6-4 6-3 6-2 in front of a thrilled Court 12, revealed: “British tennis right now is an amazing environment.
“We're all pushing each other every day, whether it's in training or at tournaments.
“Then when we get to come home to England and play all in the same tournaments, it's even better, congratulating each other after wins, helping after losses.”
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Fellow left-hander Draper, too good for Belgian Zizou Bergs as he came through 6-4 6-4 7-6 (7-4), agreed: “I watched Emma and Andy on Monday and then Ryan and seeing them win fired me up - I was ready to go.
“That's a big thing in British tennis at the moment. I wouldn't say it's a golden age but there's a lot of good players coming through.
“We can all help each other to improve and we’re all friends, as well.
“Not only do we practice together, we go out together, we have a good time and we're all getting behind each other and want each other to do well.”
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Gray stunned Taiwan’s Chun-hsin Tseng, the wildcard and British number nine mocking a mockery of the 193-place difference in the rankings as he won 6-3 6-3 7-6 (7-3).
It means he and Peniston, who opens up on Court No3 tomorrow against American Steve Johnson of the USA, have come a big step closer to their ambition of buying a home together near the All England Club.
Peniston has already earned more than £146,000 this month after his last eight runs at Queens and Eastbourne, with Gray’s win banking him £78,000.
Gray said: “I’ve seen the prices, so something around this area would probably be a bit of a box.
“But to win like that was pretty amazing. It’s what I dreamed of as a kid.”
Peniston added: “We’re great friends and it would be cool if we could find a place around this area to stay, awesome - although I might have to win Wimbledon to afford it here.”
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Broady saw off Slovakian Lukas Klein 4-6 6-3 7-5 6-7 (2-7) 6-2 after three and a half gruelling and topsy-turvy hours.
But there was no joy for fellow Brits Evans, hampered by a foot problem as he lost 6-1 6-4-6-3 to Aussie Jason Kubler, or Jay Clarke, ousted in straight sets in his resumed clash with Christian Harrison of the USA after wasting three set points in the third set tie break.
Heather Watson rolled back the years to earn a place in the second round by beating Germany's Tamara Korpatsch 6-7 7-5 6-2 - a match which started on Monday evening.
Watson was delighted to bounce back from her "disaster" on the same No 1 Court in the first round last year and was briefly in tears during her post-match interview.
And Katie Boulter kept Britain’s women on course for their best Wimbledon showing for a generation.
The British No3 recovered from a poor start to beat France’s Clara Burel 7-5 6-3 in the late evening on Court 18.
British No 2 Harriet Dart’s match against Spain’s Rebeka Masarova was cancelled but if she wins tomorrow there will be four home female players in the second round at SW19 for the first time since 2004.
British No6 Katie Swan let slip the chance to win only the second Grand Slam match of her career, though.
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Wildcard entrant Swan, 23, lost her footing on the damp grass during the first point of the match, yet recovered from going a break down to take the opening set 6-4 against Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk.
But after losing her serve in the ninth game of a tight second set, the Brit received medical attention on her heavily-strapped left thigh and eventually lost 4-6 6-4 6-4.
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