Stan Wawrinka fought back to stun sixth seed Grigor Dimitrov and claim his biggest victory since having knee surgery in the Wimbledon first round.

The Swiss, a three-time Grand Slam champion, has dropped to 224th in the world and lost to Andy Murray in the first round at Eastbourne last week.

But he rallied to beat Dimitrov 1-6 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 on Centre Court.

Elsewhere, third seed Marin Cilic, last year’s beaten finalist, defeated Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka 6-1 6-4 6-4.

• Federer wins in 79 minutes
• Serena Williams wins on Wimbledon return

Wawrinka’s revival

Despite his successful career, Wawrinka has never made it further than the quarter-finals at Wimbledon.

He fell in the opening round last year to Russia’s Daniil Medvedev when he was hindered by his knee, and later opted to have surgery and end his season early.

He returned to the tour for the Australian Open in January, but ultimately had further surgery in February which kept him out until May.

Wawrinka began slowly against Bulgaria’s Dimitrov, who won the season-ending ATP Tour finals in November, but has struggled for form since.

Dimitrov let slip a 5-2 lead in the third set and Wawrinka muscled past him to record a first win over a top-10 player on grass.

It was a memorable day for the 33-year-old, as his partner Donna Vekic beat women’s fourth seed Sloane Stephens earlier.

“My goal was to fight and to focus on my game,” Wawrinka told BBC Sport.

“Grigor is a tough player and I knew I was nervous but I have been practising hard.

“I will do everything to be ready for the next match. When you win, it helps your body to recover.”

‘Devastating loss’ – analysis

John McEnroe, former Wimbledon champion on BBC Two

We saw guys lacking confidence for different reasons. Wawrinka is coming back from injury, but Dimitrov is inexplicable.

Dimitrov couldn’t handle the expectation, the pressure he put on himself.

When push comes to shove, he’s coming up empty. It’s a devastating loss considering he had opportunities to win it.

Querrey’s wedding dilemma

Also through is American Sam Querrey who beat Andy Murray on his way to the 2017 semi-finals.

Querrey, the 11th seed this year, had few problems as he saw off Australia’s Jordan Thompson 6-2 6-4 6-3.

The 30-year-old, who got married to Abby Dixon last month, said afterwards that he postponed his honeymoon plans to step up his grass-court preparations for Wimbledon.

“We went home for three days and flew over for Queen’s, if you count that as a honeymoon,” he said.

“I don’t think Abby does. Maybe at the end of the year, we will do a honeymoon somewhere close to where we live.”

• Live scores, schedule and results
• BBC TV, radio and online coverage

US Open champion Sloane Stephens and fifth seed Elina Svitolina were the biggest casualties on the opening day of the Wimbledon women’s singles.

The fourth-seeded American looked out of sorts in a 6-1 6-3 loss to world number 55 Donna Vekic from Croatia who caused problems with her big hitting.

Svitolina, from Ukraine, was beaten by German world number 57 Tatjana Maria.

Maria, one of a small number of mothers on the Tour, went through 6-7 (3-7) 6-4 6-1 after a late-night finish.

However, Caroline Wozniacki and Venus Williams were among the seeded players to go through.

• Serena Williams through to second round
• Battling Dart beaten by Pliskova
• Federer begins with routine win
• Third seed Cilic into third round

Australian Open champion Wozniacki, the second seed, needed 59 minutes to beat American Varvara Lepchenko 6-0 6-3.

Five-time winner Williams, who was beaten by Garbine Muguruza in last year’s final, made a slow start before beating Sweden’s Johanna Larsson in three sets.

Larsson, who had never won in her seven previous Wimbledon visits, won the opening set on a tie-break.

But Williams, 38, grew in confidence to win 6-7 (3-7) 6-2 6-1.

Vekic’s victory is her first over a top-five player and comes after first-round exits to Williams and Johanna Konta in the past two years.

“I always try to be aggressive,” she told BBC Sport.

“I struggled with my serve in the wind but hopefully I can improve. I played all the tournaments on grass coming here and that has helped me.”

The 2012 finalist Agnieszka Radwanska needed to save six match points before beating Romania’s Elena-Gabriela Ruse.

The Pole, who has been struggling with back problems, went on to win 6-3 4-6 7-5.

American 16th seed Coco Vandeweghe was hampered by injury as she bowed out to Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic.

The 26-year-old needed treatment on her ankle during the match and was visibly limping as Siniakova eventually wrapped up a 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 8-6 win in three hours and one minute.

• Live scores, schedule and results
• BBC TV, radio and online coverage
• Alerts: Get tennis news sent to your phone

Serena Williams battled blustery conditions to reach the Wimbledon second round with a 7-5 6-3 victory over Dutchwoman Arantxa Rus.

Seven-time champion Williams, the 25th seed after having a baby in September, did not have it all her own way against the left-hander’s formidable forehand.

After winning the first set when Rus sent a forehand long, she had to fight back from a break down in the second.

Williams faces Tereza Smitkova or Viktoriya Tomova next.

More to follow.

• Alerts: Get tennis news sent to your phone