Heather Watson and Johanna Konta posted victories in Australian Open qualifying but there was disappointment for fellow British player Dan Evans.
Watson overcame nerves to defeat Australian Arina Rodionova 6-4 6-3 in the first round, while Konta was particularly impressive in a 6-2 6-1 victory over Grace Min of the USA.
Evans was the only British man to win his first-round match in qualifying on Wednesday and hopes were high that he could repeat his US Open heroics, which saw him go all the way to the third round of the main draw.
But the 23-year-old was beaten 6-4 6-1 in his second preliminary match by Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics, the 2010 Wimbledon boys’ champion.
Fucsovics is 33 places behind 149th-ranked Evans and had only won a single grand slam qualifying match prior to arriving in Melbourne, but was rock solid.
Evans, in contrast, was well below his best, losing eight of the last nine games and receiving a warning for swearing.
Watson is playing in grand slam qualifying for the first time in 18 months after last season was ruined by glandular fever and she dropped out of the top 100.
The 21-year-old will next meet France’s Stephanie Foretz Gacon, who she beat at the French Open in 2011, and needs two more wins to reach the main draw.
Watson said: “I played quite well, I definitely can play better, and I think I’ll play a lot freer in my next match.”
Konta, who plays Ukraine’s Olga Savchuk in round two, is ranked seven places above Watson and only narrowly missed out on direct entry to the main draw in Melbourne.
The 22-year-old grew up in Australia before moving to Britain aged 14 and she looked right at home, winning 10 of the final 11 games with some big serving and fierce groundstrokes.
British number four Tara Moore did not fare so well, the 21-year-old losing 6-0 7-5 to Japan’s Erika Sema.