Yorkshire’s Edmund and No 1 Evans progress down under

Edmund had to work hard for his victory where he was taken to three sets in a rain-affected encounter before overcoming Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

The 25-year-old world No 69 won the first set in relatively-comfortable fashion but saw his opponent hit back in a second set that included a lengthy stoppage for rain when Davidovich Fokina was serving at 5-4 up.

When play resumed after a break of almost 90 minutes, the Spanish wild card duly wrapped up the set to send the match to a decider, where Edmund emerged triumphant to claim a 6-2 4-6 6-3 win.

Elsewhere, British No 1 Dan Evans swept past Alexander Bublik to secure a place in the quarter-finals.

Evans, fresh from a convincing victory against Juan Londero in the first round, only needed 75 minutes to secure a 7-5 6-2 win over Bublik and book his spot in the last eight.

Kazakhstan’s Bublik lost his serve to go down 5-4 in the first set but quickly broke back to make it 5-5

Evans, ranked 33 in the world, responded by winning a third break point to take a 6-5 lead and then served to love to take the opener.

The second set was a more pedestrian affair for the Briton, Evans winning five of the first six games before serving out the match.

Britain’s Harriet Dart reached the second round of qualifying for the Australian Open

Dart beat Bulgaria’s world number 194 Elitsa Kostova 6-4 6-1 in 75 minutes to set up a meeting with American 15th seed Nicole Gibbs.