By . Riath Al-Samarrai . Follow @@riathalsam . It started with a twinge for one and ended with a whinge for the other, but two British players scored impressive victories on the opening day of the Aegon Championships at Queen’s Club. For James Ward, there was a fine straight-sets win over Blaz Rola, followed by a rather testy complaint in his press conference about questions on the subject of female coaches. Then there was Dan Evans, Britain’s No 2, who later in the afternoon pulled off a significant upset in the first round by knocking out Jurgen Melzer, a top-10 player three years ago. More impressively, Evans' win came against the backdrop of pain in his left knee that has lingered for nine months and will require a lay-off from the game after Wimbledon. Perfect start: Great Britain's Dan Evans celebrates victory over Jurgen Melzer in the first round of the Aegon Championships at Queen's Club . On form: Evans defeated the world No 51 in three sets to reach the second round . Early exit: Melzer plays a backhand during his disappointing defeat to Evans on day one at Queen's Club . Often . maligned and sanctioned in the past for his attitude, the 24-year-old . delivered an exhibition of his undoubted talents with a 6-3, 6-7, 7-6 . win over Austria’s world No 51. The . world No 139 won the first set 6-3 and led in the second-set tiebreak . before two double faults — accompanied by a racket toss — let the . Austrian back in. Melzer, 33, pressed home his advantage, breaking early . in the third set. But . Evans first levelled and then excelled as the match went into another . tiebreak. He forced an early mini-break with a delightful backhand pass . down the line and led 5-2 when Melzer shanked a forehand into the . stands. Evans wrapped up . the win with an ace down the middle to set up a second-round . clash against South African Kevin Anderson, the seventh seed, this . morning. On the run: Evans stretches to make a forehand return on a sunny afternoon in west London . Solid start: James Ward plays a backhand on his way to a straight-sets win over Blaz Rola at Queen's . ‘It was a good . win,’ said Evans. ‘I played well, I took my chances when I needed them . and fought back from a break down in the third. It was a good day.’ Having . previously received punishments — including the cutting of his funding . in 2008 — from the LTA over his behaviour, Evans has apparently turned a . corner with a string of impressive results, such as a run to the last . 32 at the 2013 US Open. He added: ‘Obviously Wimbledon is where you want to win the matches because there are more points there. ‘Second, third, fourth round of Wimbledon would be pretty good. Winning some matches in Wimbledon will be a goal.’ Sharp: Ward was in impressive form as he overcame a 64-place ranking deficit to beat Rola . Ward, . meanwhile, had little trouble in staging a decent upset against . Slovenia’s Rola, overcoming a 64-place ranking deficit to beat the world . No 91 7-5, 6-4. Ward went on a stunning run to the semi-finals here in 2011. ‘That . run was obviously like a one‑off,’ said the world No 155. ‘I played . unbelievable the whole week. You can’t do that every week. But I think . I’m playing a lot better, a lot more consistent. With the opportunities . in the next few weeks, hopefully I’ll keep moving forward.’ Daniel Cox broke early against France’s Adrian Mannarino, but failed to make it a British hat-trick as he lost 7-5, 6-2.
Brit James Ward beat Blaz Rola in straight sets to reach round two .
Evans needed a third set tie-break to beat world No 51 Melzer .
The 24-year-old confirmed his win with an ace .
By . Riath Al-Samarrai . Follow @@riathalsam . It started with a twinge for one and ended with a whinge for the other, but two British players scored impressive victories on the opening day of the Aegon Championships at Queen’s Club. For James Ward, there was a fine straight-sets win over Blaz Rola, followed by a rather testy complaint in his press conference about questions on the subject of female coaches. Then there was Dan Evans, Britain’s No 2, who later in the afternoon pulled off a significant upset in the first round by knocking out Jurgen Melzer, a top-10 player three years ago. More impressively, Evans' win came against the backdrop of pain in his left knee that has lingered for nine months and will require a lay-off from the game after Wimbledon. Perfect start: Great Britain's Dan Evans celebrates victory over Jurgen Melzer in the first round of the Aegon Championships at Queen's Club . On form: Evans defeated the world No 51 in three sets to reach the second round . Early exit: Melzer plays a backhand during his disappointing defeat to Evans on day one at Queen's Club . Often . maligned and sanctioned in the past for his attitude, the 24-year-old . delivered an exhibition of his undoubted talents with a 6-3, 6-7, 7-6 . win over Austria’s world No 51. The . world No 139 won the first set 6-3 and led in the second-set tiebreak . before two double faults — accompanied by a racket toss — let the . Austrian back in. Melzer, 33, pressed home his advantage, breaking early . in the third set. But . Evans first levelled and then excelled as the match went into another . tiebreak. He forced an early mini-break with a delightful backhand pass . down the line and led 5-2 when Melzer shanked a forehand into the . stands. Evans wrapped up . the win with an ace down the middle to set up a second-round . clash against South African Kevin Anderson, the seventh seed, this . morning. On the run: Evans stretches to make a forehand return on a sunny afternoon in west London . Solid start: James Ward plays a backhand on his way to a straight-sets win over Blaz Rola at Queen's . ‘It was a good . win,’ said Evans. ‘I played well, I took my chances when I needed them . and fought back from a break down in the third. It was a good day.’ Having . previously received punishments — including the cutting of his funding . in 2008 — from the LTA over his behaviour, Evans has apparently turned a . corner with a string of impressive results, such as a run to the last . 32 at the 2013 US Open. He added: ‘Obviously Wimbledon is where you want to win the matches because there are more points there. ‘Second, third, fourth round of Wimbledon would be pretty good. Winning some matches in Wimbledon will be a goal.’ Sharp: Ward was in impressive form as he overcame a 64-place ranking deficit to beat Rola . Ward, . meanwhile, had little trouble in staging a decent upset against . Slovenia’s Rola, overcoming a 64-place ranking deficit to beat the world . No 91 7-5, 6-4. Ward went on a stunning run to the semi-finals here in 2011. ‘That . run was obviously like a one‑off,’ said the world No 155. ‘I played . unbelievable the whole week. You can’t do that every week. But I think . I’m playing a lot better, a lot more consistent. With the opportunities . in the next few weeks, hopefully I’ll keep moving forward.’ Daniel Cox broke early against France’s Adrian Mannarino, but failed to make it a British hat-trick as he lost 7-5, 6-2.
over Blaz Rola, followed by a rather No 51 in three sets to reach the second round . No 51. The . world No 139 won the first set 6-3 Evans wrapped up . the win with an ace down the ranking deficit to beat Rola . Ward, . meanwhile,