Defending men's champion Novak Djokovic and women's top seed Iga Swiatek both progressed to the second round of Wimbledon on a rain-affected first day of the Championships, while a trio of Britons also prevailed.
Djokovic's opening encounter with Argentina's Pedro Cachin was suspended for over an hour following the first set, as the grass refused to dry despite the closure of the roof.
As well as a trio of staff armed with leaf blowers, Djokovic tried to help by mopping up rainwater with his towel, and once play eventually resumed, the Serbian saw out a 6-3 6-3 7-6[4] victory.
Djokovic's win continued his remarkable streak of not losing on Centre Court at Wimbledon since his defeat to Andy Murray in the 2013 final, and women's number one Swiatek made light work of China's Zhu Lin.
The Pole stormed to a 6-3 6-1 victory in one hour and 21 minutes, hitting 22 winners compared to Lin's seven and progressing on a stunning backhand return, setting up a second-round affair with Sara Sorribes Tormo.
Meanwhile, three home favourites in Jodie Burrage, Liam Broady and Jan Choinski also made it through, with the former defeating Caty McNally 6-1 6-3 for her first-ever Grand Slam main draw victory.
Burrage has been rewarded with a second-round tie against Russian 11th seed Daria Kasatkina, while Broady also prevailed in straight sets, seeing off Constant Lestienne of France 6-1 6-3 7-5.
Broady also faces a daunting second-round clash with fourth seed Casper Ruud, who briefly lost his way against French qualifier Laurent Lokoli but eventually came through 6-1 5-7 6-4 6-3.
Finally, Choinski also picked up his maiden Grand Slam success, coming from a set down to defeat Serbia's Dusan Lajovic 5-7 7-6[4] 6-2 6-2 and set up a showdown with Polish 17th seed Hubert Hurkacz.
However, Harriet Dart - one of the first players out on the courts at 11am - was bested 7-6[4] 0-6 4-6 by France's Diane Parry, prior to Katie Swan's 5-7 2-6 defeat to Belinda Bencic.
Elsewhere on day one, American seventh seed Coco Gauff was a notable casualty, suffering a shock 4-6 6-4 2-6 loss to compatriot and qualifier Sofia Kenin.
Venus Williams's highly-anticipated meeting with fellow wild card Elina Svitolina also ended in defeat for the five-time singles winner, who battled on after a nasty-looking fall in the first set but was seen off 6-4 6-3.
Another all-American affair saw fourth seed Jessica Pegula defeat Lauren Davis 6-2 6-7[8] 6-3, while Caroline Garcia and Leylah Fernandez set up an eye-catching clash with wins over Katie Volynets and Kateryna Baindl respectively.
There were also victories for Andrey Rublev, Lorenzo Musetti, Stanislas Wawrinka and Jannik Sinner on the opening day, with the latter finishing the action on Centre Court with a 6-2 6-2 6-2 win over Juan Manuel Cerundolo.
However, 11th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime also suffered a premature exit to American lucky loser Michael Mmoh, while Dan Evans's late-night clash with Quentin Halys was suspended with the Frenchman 6-2 6-3 to the good. body check tags ::
