Briton Lee off to flyer

Brilliant Lee was not ready for another five-set epic

Britain's Martin Lee brought a smile to the faces of the home crowd by winning his opening first-round match against Costa Rica's Juan- Antonio Marin 6-2 6-4 7-6.

The London left-hander looked in confident form against Marin and made amends for his first round exit in last year's championship by playing some clinical ground strokes.

Lee was involved one of the epic battles of the 1999 tournament, when he was knocked out by Argentina's Guillermo Canas, losing the fifth and final set 9-7.

But the 22-year-old was not prepared for a repeat performance as he booked his place in the second round.

I knew if I played my game then I'd have a good chance

Martin Lee

Lee admitted later that he was confident that his good form would see him through.

"I knew if I played my game then I'd have a good chance," said Lee.

MacLagan out

"Marin is obviously a clay-court specialist but this is a very big win for me against a player ranked in the mid-60s in the world.

"There is pressure but you've got the crowd on your side. I'm just looking forward to the next round now."

But there was bad news on for another Brit, as Miles MacLagan fell to Canada's Daniel Nestor in four sets, 4-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 6-4.

The 25-year-old looked impressive in the opening set and took Nestor to a tie-break in the second, which he eventually lost.

The Briton, who won two sets against Boris Becker last year, failed to recover and despite a brave fightback in the fourth, he fell away losing 6-4.