Dan Evans reaches second round for first time with win over Facundo Bagnis

Evans saved three set points against Bagnis before taking the opening set in a tie-break and he never looked back as the British number three sealed an impressive 7-6 (10/8) 6-3 6-1 victory.

He will now face Cilic, the seventh seed in Melbourne, who earlier on Monday had come from two sets down to beat Poland's Jerzy Janowicz.

Evans has never faced Cilic before in his career but the world number 51 has form for upsetting a big name.

He defeated Kei Nishikori in straight sets at the 2013 US Open and stretched Stan Wawrinka to five sets at Flushing Meadows last year. Wawrinka saved match point against Evans and went on to win the title.

Evans is also on an upward curve, after reaching his first ATP final last week in Sydney via a quarter-final victory over world number eight Dominic Thiem.

Bagnis, ranked 65th in the world, has far less pedigree but the Argentinian put Evans in trouble at the end of the first set, when he led 6-3 in the tie-break.

A superb backhand pass, however, sparked an Evans comeback as he won four points in a row before finally clinching the set.

The turnaround seemed to knock the stuffing out of Bagnis, who was never the same thereafter.

Evans claimed two breaks in both the second and third sets to confirm a convincing victory after an hour and 56 minutes.