London, England, 18 June 2013 | tennis.com.au

Sam Groth, Matt Reid and James Duckworth have advanced to the second round of the qualifying tournament for the 2013 Wimbledon Championships.

The trio were among five Australians in action on Day 1 of the qualifying event at Roehampton; John-Patrick Smith and Matthew Barton fell in their opening matches.

Reid’s win was undoubtedly the most dramatic, with the Sydneysider defeating 22nd seed Somdev Devvarman of India 7-6(4) 4-6 18-16.

The 22-year-old’s epic victory sets up a second round match against Amir Weintraub of Israel.

Duckworth and Groth’s victories came in more straight-forward fashion.

Duckworth brushed aside the challenge of No.10 seed Dusan Lajovic – ranked 59 places higher – with a 6-3 6-1 win, while Groth progressed to round two after defeating local wildcard Josh Goodall 6-4 7-6(6).

Duckworth next meets Augustin Velotti of Argentina, while Groth tackles Michal Przysiezny, the 11th seed from Poland.

The three men will take to the court for their second round matches on Tuesday, as will our Aussie women, who are embarking on the first round of their qualifying campaigns.

> read our women’s qualifying preview

Smith was unlucky to draw fifth-seeded Jiri Vesely of Czech Republic, going down 7-6(3) 6-3, while Barton fell 3-6 6-2 6-4 to Farrukh Dustov of Uzbekistan.