Andy Murray had to hold back the emotion as he celebrated a winning return to the ATP Tour at Queen's.
Murray had hip surgery in 2019 and had not won a grass-court game since 2018, with last year's season having been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Having struggled with a groin injury, the 34-year-old Scot last played in March, yet showed flashes of his old self in his 6-3 6-2 victory over Benoit Paire, having taking up a wildcard into the pre-Wimbledon tournament.
It was an emotional moment for Murray, who said: "Look, I love playing tennis."
The five-time champion was fighting back the tears as he continued: "Obviously, competing is why you put in all the hard work.
"The last few years, I've not got to do that as much as I would have liked so, yeah it's just great that I'm out here and able to compete again.
"The body is old, but I did quite well today in terms of my movement.
"It's my first match on grass in three years and I've only played three or four practice sets in the build-up to this, so I didn't know exactly how I was going to play or feel – but I think for a first match it was good."
Murray will face top seed and world number nine Matteo Berrettini, who defeated Stefano Travaglia 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-4).
British number one Dan Evans beat Alexei Popyrin, while fourth seed Alex de Minaur also progressed to round two, having come from behind against Laslo Djere. Second seed Denis Shapovalov overcame Aleksandar Vukic.
Tuesday's results mean, for the first time since 2005, four British players have won at Queen's, with Cameron Norrie and Jack Draper having gone through on Monday.
Meanwhile, after losing to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the French Open quarter-finals, world number two Daniil Medvedev crashed out of the Halle Open in the first round.
Jan-Lennard Struff was his conqueror, claiming a 7-6 (8-6) 6-3 triumph, which the German labelled as "the biggest win of my career."
There was better luck for third seed Alexander Zverev, though he did need three sets to see off Dominik Koepfer 6-4 3-6 6-3, just four days after facing Tsitsipas in the Roland Garros semi-finals.
Ugo Humbert awaits Zverev, while Felix Auger-Aliassime beat Hubert Hurkacz to tee up a tie with Roger Federer. World number seven Andrey Rublev got the better of Karen Khachanov.
Sinner avoids O'Connell upset at US Open
Jannik Sinner beat Australia's Christopher O'Connell in straight sets to reach the fourth round of the US Open on Saturday, avoiding a similar fate to Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic.
The men's draw at Flushing Meadows has been blown wide open by early exits for Alcaraz and Djokovic, but the top seed remains in the hunt after a composed performance.
He reached the fourth round for a fourth consecutive year with a routine 6-1 6-4 6-2 victory, setting the tone with several huge groundstrokes in the opening set.
O'Connell never looked likely to fight back as Sinner smashed 46 winners in a ruthless performance, wrapping up his win in one hour and 56 minutes.
The Australian Open champion will face either Tommy Paul or Gabriel Diallo for a place in the last eight, and he was relieved to survive an opening week full of surprises.
"Everything can happen in this sport, so I try to stay on my side of the net and I'm trying to take the tournament day by day," Sinner said in his on-court interview after the win.
"Each opponent is a very tough challenge and [I am] also enjoying every moment on the court. There have been already a couple of upsets, so let's see what's coming.
"But I'm very happy to still be here and hopefully I can play as many matches as possible. But as I said, we go day by day and then we'll see how it goes."
Data Debrief: Sinner heating up
Sinner lost his first set of the tournament to Mackenzie McDonald but has been largely untouchable since then.
He has only lost 18 games across his last nine sets of tennis, an average of two per set.
The Italian's winning streak now stands at seven straight matches, meanwhile, following his triumphant Cincinnati Open run.
US Open: Sabalenka overcomes first set scare to progress in late start
Aryna Sabalenka came from a set down to keep her US Open dream alive as she beat Ekaterina Alexandrova in the early hours at Flushing Meadows.
Sabalenka emerged on court at the Arthur Ashe Stadium at seven minutes past midnight following Novak Djokovic's shock exit from the tournament, and consecutive upsets looked to be on the cards.
However, the Belarusian responded from a disappointing opening set as she looks to avenge her defeat in the showpiece match against Coco Gauff a year ago.
The world number two set up a meeting with Belgium's Elise Mertens as she emerged a 2-6 6-1 6-2 victor in one hour and 40 minutes in New York.
"I don't know what I did, I was just trying to stay low, put as many balls as I can back on that side," Sabalenka said.
"She played incredible tennis in the first set. It was really tough to change it."
"I'm really happy I was able to turn around this match and get this really difficult win. Thanks so much for staying that late."
Data Debrief: Sabalenka survives late, late show
Sabalenka's encounter with Alexandrova was the latest starting match at the US Open, beating Gabriela Sabatini and Beverley Bowes' meeting in 1987 that started at midnight.
The Belarusian, however, will be hoping for a much improved performance in the next round, having produced 27 unforced errors throughout the contest and serving four double faults.
US Open: Djokovic played 'worst tennis ever' in Popyrin loss
Defending US Open champion Novak Djokovic suffered a shock exit at Flushing Meadows as he lost in four sets to Alexei Popyrin.
Djokovic arrived at the tournament with confidence following his gold medal triumph at the Paris Olympics, and was tipped to lift a record-extending 25th grand slam title.
However, the Serbian's hopes of a fifth success in New York were dashed as he followed fellow favourite Carlos Alcaraz out of the competition in the third round.
Popyrin emerged victorious in three hours and 18 minutes, prevailing 6-4 6-4 2-6 6-4 to confirm Djokovic's earliest exit from the tournament in 18 years.
"I have played some of the worst tennis I have ever played," Djokovic said.
"Honestly, the way I felt and the way I played from the beginning of this tournament, third round is a success."
"I tried my best, I didn't have any physical issues. I just felt out of gas, and you could see that. From the first match, I just didn't find myself on this court.
"Life moves on. I'll try to recalibrate and look forward to what's next."
Data Debrief: Another one bites the dust
Djokovic was far from his clinical best, serving a career-high 14 double faults in a grand slam match and committing 49 unforced errors.
The Serbian will also end the year without winning a grand slam title, the first time he has done so since 2017.
But the day belonged to Popyrin, saving 12 of the 16 break points he faced against the world number two, finding particular success with his forehand as 31 of his 49 winners came from that shot.
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