Tim Henman revelled in the atmosphere of 'People's Sunday' as he booked his place in the fourth round of Wimbledon for the ninth year in a row.
Cheered on by a partisan crowd who had queued for the 11,000 tickets on sale, Henman beat Morocco's Hicham Arazi 7-6 6-3 3-6 6-2 on Centre Court.
The British number one recovered from 2-0 down in the fourth set to win the next six games and will now face last year's beaten finalist Mark Philippoussis in the last 16 tomorrow.
"It was tough," admitted Henman afterwards. "It was swirling out there and he was playing some really good quality tennis and making it difficult for me. Winning the first set was crucial, I wanted to get off to a good start.
"The quality was not always great but you've got to find a way to get through these matches. I need to play better but I still fancy my chances."
Henman once more revelled in the carnival atmosphere of Centre Court and would like to see the middle Sunday used on a regular basis.
"It was a phenomenal atmosphere," he said. "I've been so lucky to have had the opportunity to play the middle Sunday twice. I can understand how it's difficult to organise and it's tradition to have the day off but it was an unbelievable atmosphere."