Wimbledon 2016: Marcus Willis and Dan Evans carry the flag on an otherwise poor day for British aces
A series of losses had the home faithful feeling blue, before one win lifted spirits off the ground and into seventh heaven
IT was a real mixed bag from Britain's tennis warriors on day one at Wimbledon.
A series of losses had the home faithful feeling blue, before one particular win lifted spirits off the ground and into seventh heaven.
That honour goes to Marcus Willis, but more on that later...
To kick off the British day, James Ward put up a fight against dominant world No1 Novak Djokovic in Centre Court's first game, before eventually losing 6-0 7-6 6-4.
He momentarily got the SW19 crowd fired up in the second set having been 3-0 down at one stage, before breaking back.
Meanwhile, namesake Alex - the British No7 - slumped to a 6-2 6-3 6-2 loss at the hands of No11 seed David Goffin.
Ward's doubles partner Brydan Klein also fell out of contention after losing in his tournament curtain-raiser 7-6 6-4 6-4 to France's Nicolas Mahut.
And there was bad news for Brit No3 Kyle Edmund as he crashed out of SW19 6-2 7-5 6-4 at the hands of another Frenchman - Adrian Mannarino.
Later in the day's proceedings, there was finally some good news... And from the most unlikely source.
World No772 Marcus Willis - who was on the verge of quitting the sport altogether just weeks ago - stunned Lithuanian world No53 Ricardas Berankis in front of a raucous Court 17 crowd to win 6-3 6-3 6-4, in what will undoubtedly be the story of the tournament, if not the year.
And to top off the day for the Brit men, Dan Evans came through in four sets 6-3 6-7 7-6 7-5 against Jan-Lennard Struff, despite suffering a nasty-looking knee injury early in the final set.
The female contingent of Britain's got off to a poor start too, as Naomi Broady lost 6-2 6-3 against Ukrainian No17 seed Elina Svitolina.
And it only got worse as Laura Robson was gifted the unenviable task of taking on reigning Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber.
She ultimately fell to a 6-2 6-2 defeat for Britain's fifth loss of the day.
Brit fans will be hoping their seven-strong contingent can fly the flag in Tuesday's first round matches.
Their biggest hope, of course, is world No2 Andy Murray who takes on fellow Briton Liam Broady.
So whatever happens in the battle between the Brit No1 and Brit No6, fans can rest easy knowing there will be at least ONE more home hero turning out in round two.
Elsewhere on day two, British No2 Aljaz Bedene faces a tricky tie against France's No7 seed Richard Gasquet.
In the women's draw, there are four home aces on show, including Brit No1 Johanna Konta.
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The No16 seed at SW19 faces Puerto Rican star Monica Puig on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Brit No2 Heather Watson will be in action, taking on Germany's Annika Beck.
Wild-card world No229 and British No4 Tara Moore will faces Belgium's Alison van Uytvanck, while national No10 - 17-year-old Katie Swan - plays Hungary's Timea Babos.
So while day one may have been a tricky one for the crowd favourites, there's plenty to play for on day two.
OUT:
Kyle Edmund, James Ward, Alex Ward, Brydan Klein, Naomi Broady, Laura Robson.
IN:
Marcus Willis, Dan Evans.
TO PLAY (Tuesday):
Andy Murray, Aljaz Bedene, Liam Broady, Heather Watson, Johanna Konta, Tara Moore, Katie Swan.