Dan Evans was overcome with emotion after beating 18th seed Nikoloz Basilashvili in the best moment of his comeback so far.
The British number three matched his most successful run at Wimbledon by making the third round and is closing in on a return to the top 50 just over 12 months after returning to the sport without a ranking following his year-long cocaine ban.
After sealing a 6-3 6-2 7-6 (2) victory on Court Two, Evans thrust his hands to the sky with tears in his eyes.
"I just want to do well at this tournament," he said later.
"It was a goal to be in the main draw here. I did that. Obviously I missed out the last few years. To be into the third round is great for me.
"A lot of my friends were here, people who have helped me so much. It just got the better of me today. There's plenty more tennis to be played in this tournament, so I won't be resting on that win.
"I believe I can do better now than before. I was just playing tennis. I probably didn't know the magnitude of winning matches in grand slams. It's a big deal to be winning matches in the best tournaments in the world, especially here at Wimbledon, at your home slam, with so much tradition at the tournament.
"I want to go as far as I can here. For me it's the best grand slam, so I can't wait to play again."
Another reason for the emotion was relief after a match that had looked utterly straight forward, with Evans' grass-court guile befuddling Basilashvili, threatened to get complicated.
The 29-year-old had his first two match points at 5-2 in the third set, one more in the next game before being broken back and then a fourth in the next but could not take any of them.
He won the tie-break emphatically, though, to move through to a third-round clash with unseeded Portuguese Joao Sousa, who knocked out former finalist Marin Cilic.
"I didn't do a great job of his service game," said Evans. "I had match points. Missed an easy return. Then it got a bit messy out there. I got over the line at the end."
Evans chuntered away to himself and his team, earning a rebuke from Basilashvili, and will face a fine after being heard swearing at himself by a line judge following a double fault early in the second set.
On paper this was an upset but, given Evans' form and prowess on grass and his opponent's lack of results, it would have been a disappointment if he had not found a way through.
The Brummie is playing at least as well as he was before the self-inflicted career sabotage that took him away from the top level for the best part of two years.
What is clear is how much he wants to make the most of the rest of his playing days after finally getting to a place where he is happy to dedicate his life to tennis.
This was almost an all-British clash, with James Ward leading Basilashvili by two sets to love in the first round only to lose out 8-6 in the fifth set.
Basilashvili started much better here and Evans sowed the seeds for his victory by digging in and staying with his opponent.
By the second set, Basilashvili had been sucked in to playing Evans' game, the Georgian experiencing death by short backhand slice until he threw caution to the wind at the end and began charging to the net.
Evans will aim to do the same against Sousa, who is ranked eight places lower at 69.
"That's my game plan, obviously," said Evans. "Those guys know that. They're going to try to put their game on me. That's the battle out there, isn't it? Hopefully I can try and do that again on Saturday, serve a bit better hopefully. I think I can win."
