Heather Watson booked her placed in the Wimbledon second round but there was disappointment for Laura Robson, Naomi Broady and Cameron Norrie on day one.
Seven home favourites took to the lawns of Wimbledon on Monday as play got underway and just over an hour later the first of them was on their way home when Robson went out in straight sets to Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia.
While Robson would have hoped for better from her match against the world No 97, Watson's return to form in Eastbourne suggested she could make her mark once again at the All England Club having pushed Serena Williams so close a couple of years ago.
Watson faced world no 119 Maryna Zanevska.and the British No 2 breezed to the first set, losing just one game.
Serving at 5-4 in the second Watson looked like making short work of proceedings before blowing three match points.
She eventually prevailed thanks to a second set tie-break and will next face 18th seed Anastasija Sevastova but the news wasn't as good for her doubles partner Naomi Broady who was beaten in straight sets by Irina-Camelia Begu.
Broady was unable to trouble the Romanian and a 6-4 6-2 defeat means her campaign ends after day one.
However for Robson, it's the latest disappointment as she battles her way back to full fitness after injury problems and having fallen a break behind early on, she never looked like troubling Haddad Maia.
"I just didn't feel like I played my best tennis at all," said Robson, who won the girls' title at Wimbledon nine years ago.
"It wasn't the way that I've been playing the last few weeks, even. So I do feel like I let myself down a bit out there.
"I just never really let myself get into the match. I was a bit overwhelmed with nerves when I first got out there, then I tried to play too perfect when I really didn't need to go for so much."
Both of Britain's No 1s were in action on the opening day. Andy Murray kicked off his campaign on Centre Court with a straight sets victory over Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik.
While Johanna Konta started her bid to become Britain's first female Grand Slam champion since 1977 with a comprehensive 6-2 6-2 win over Chinese Tapei's Su-Wei Hsieh on Court No 1.
After Murray's success there was more first round joy for the British men as Slovakian-born Aljaz Bedene emerged triumphant from a gruelling epic with big-serving Croatian veteran and 21st seed Ivo Karlovic.
There was little to separate the pair in 4hrs 24mins of action with the first four sets going to a tie-break before Bedene made the crucial breakthrough in the 14th game of the decider for a 6-7 7-6 6-7 7-6 8-6 victory and a place in the second round where he will face Damir Dzumhur.
Earlier in the day, Norrie was up against it from the off against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, a two-time Wimbledon semi-finalist.
The Frenchman reached the last four in 2011 and 2012 and made short work of Britain's No 5, winning 6-3 6-2 6-2 to book his place in the second round after just 86 minutes.
Norrie had been handed a wild card to make his debut at the All England Club but the 21-year-old was no match for the power and athleticism of Tsonga, the 12th seed and world No 10, who advances to a second-round meeting with Italy's Simone Bolelli who beat Yen-Hsun Lu in four sets.
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