Tim Henman's credentials as a possible Wimbledon champion took a battering after he scraped past debutant Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo today.
Ramirez Hidalgo had never set foot on a grass court until two days ago but took the opening set of the first round clash 6-4 against the four-time semi-finalist.
The 26-year-old from Alicante, without a win in any Grand Slam event, was then only denied taking the second set tie-break by a fortunate Henman return which hit the line, before the British number one levelled the match.
Henman then took the next two sets 6-4 6-2 to complete a nerve-wracking victory in two minutes over three hours, but will need a massive improvement if he is to have any chance of claiming the coveted title on July 4th.
All five of Hidalgo's wins this year have come on clay, mainly in second-tier Challenger events, but he broke Henman's serve to love for a 4-3 lead in the opening set courtesy of some superb backhands and returns.
And another excellent backhand passing shot forced Henman to net another volley to leave the fifth seed facing an uphill battle to avoid an embarrassing exit.
After two games of the second set the statistics made worrying reading for Henman fans. Supposedly the best volleyer in the world had won 14 points at the net and lost 16, while clay court specialist Ramirez had won seven and lost just one.
And things got worse when the 29-year-old dropped his serve again in amazing fashion, a double fault described by commentator John McEnroe as "frightening" and "one of the most horrendous" of his career, followed by two missed volleys.
He finally managed to break Hidalgo's serve to get back on level terms, but could not repeat the trick and a tie-break was necessary to decide the outcome of the set.
A seventh double fault put Henman 3-1 behind and it took a slice of good luck for him to avoid going two sets down, a backhand return on set point just clipping the line to save the first of two set points.
Henman then won the next two points on his own serve and levelled the match when a backhand from Hidalgo flew long, bringing a huge cheer from the crowd.
The momentum had now shifted firmly towards Henman and he broke twice in the early stages of the third set to establish a 4-1 lead.
All was still not well, however, an eighth double fault allowing the Spaniard to claw back one of the breaks, and the world number 89 then saved two set points to force Henman to serve out for the set.
It took the help of a terrible line call which gave Henman an ace, and a lucky net cord, but Henman managed it to take the set 6-4 and a two sets to one lead.
Henman's frustration was obvious and he appeared to be reported to the umpire for some choice language by one of the line judges, but he was finally getting to grips with Hidalgo.
He broke to love for a 3-2 lead and only his second outright return winner of the match gave him the cushion of a second break and 5-2 advantage.
A 13th ace eventually sealed victory, but it was a woefully unconvincing performance from the British number one.