Jana Cepelova’s talent has never been in question. The same, too, can be said for her ability to summon this talent on the big occasion, as she showed with victory over the mighty Serena Williams last year in Charleston.

However, the start of 2015 was not kind to the Slovak, who went into her first round engagement with Simona Halep at Wimbledon with just a single WTA main draw win. If she was short on confidence, it did not show, as she took the match to the No.3 seed from the off.

Going on court with the devil may care attitude only afforded to the heaviest of underdogs, Cepelova swung from the hip. While this approach was not enough to take a closely contested opening set, the World No.106 came roaring back to ultimately triumph, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3.

Asked afterwards how the match compared to her upset of Williams, there was no contest. “It is of course better because it’s Wimbledon, a Grand Slam,” she said. “Simona’s a very good player but today was my day.

“Beating Serena definitely gave me the confidence that I could beat Top 10 players. I’ve had some tough moments this year, but everything is fine now. I’m just really proud.”

At times, Halep was the architect of her own downfall, coughing up 34 unforced errors as she struggled to get to grips with Cepelova’s regular forays to the net.

The Romanian, though, still had her chances, breaking in the first game of the decider only to lose the next four. Cepelova had a wobble of her own when the finishing line loomed, coming from 0-40 down in the final game to clinch victory when Halep splayed yet another forehand wide.

“She kept fighting until the end and played very aggressively when she could,” Halep said. “She also came back into the game very well and made sure that she pushed me a lot, and was just generally so aggressive. But to a degree I let her come back into it and play in this way.”